THE YEAR certainly wasn’t wanting for great sporting achievements. Or achievers for that matter.
From Darian King to Akela Jones to Chelsea Tuach and Ramon Gittens, Barbados definitely had its fair share of elite performers on the international arena in 2015 after those four each turned in memorable seasons.
But which one stood out over the others? Who is your choice as the 2015 sports personality of the year? Well, we’ll leave that for you to decide.
Here are their achievements at a glance.
Akela Jones:
• set a new high jump national record of 1.91 metres to win bronze at the Pan Am Games;
• broke her own national long jump record with 6.64 metres at the Tyson Invitational Indoor Meet;
• won the heptathlon at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track & Field Championships ;
• qualified for the heptathlon at the IAAF World Championships;
• named Kansas State University’s Female Athlete of the Year.
Darian King:
• became the first player to represent Barbados at a Grand Slam by making the US Open qualifiers;
• qualified for January’s Australian Open qualifiers;
• rose to a career-best ranking of no. 193 in the world;
• won six singles titles and five doubles crowns;
• upset top 100 players Ryan Harrison and Kyle Edmund at an ATP 500 event;
• held a 7-2 record in Davis Cup play to maintain Barbados’ Group I status;
• named the Best Midfielder while leading Christ Church East Central to David Thompson Memorial Constituency Councils’ Classic title.
Chelsea Tuach:
• qualified for next year’s WSL Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour (only Caribbean surfer ever in the history of the series);
• won the WSL Pantin Classic in Spain;
• finished third at both the Hainan Pro in China and the Women’s Pro in Australia;
• medalled at the International Surfing Association’s World Surfing Games in Nicaragua;
• named the WSL North American Junior Women’s Champion.
Ramon Gittens:
• became just the third Bajan athlete to capture a Pan Am Games silver medal;
• advanced to the semi-finals of the 100 metres at the IAAF World Championships;
• helped set a new national record of 38.55 seconds in the 4×100 relay at the NACAC Championships;
• ran a personal best 10.02 seconds in the 100 metres at the World Championships;
• placed sixth with the 4×100 relay team at the Pan Am Games.
