Name: Kierre Beckles
DOB: May 21, 1990
Event: Track & Field
Competing In: 100m Hurdles
Bio: Kierre Beckles has been involved in Track and Field from the tender age of 7 having been encouraged by her brother Julien Beckles and sister Natasha Burkett-Sealy. Kierre is the current Barbados record holder in the 100m Hurdles event with a time of 12.88. In her first year attending CARIFTA in 2004, Kierre won a bronze medal winner in the 300m Hurdles. That same year in Mexico at the CAC Juniors she won silver in the same event. At the 2007 World Youth Championships in the Czech Republic she was a semi-finalist in the 100m Hurdles.
Name: Tia-Adana Belle
DOB: June 15, 1996
Sport: Track & Field
Competing In: 400m Hurdles
Bio: Tia-Adana was encouraged to get involved in the athletics by her mother and coaches Jasper Blades and Janelle Denny. In her first year attending CARIFTA in Jamaica in 2011 she was part of the 4 x 400m Relay team which won silver. She won two silver medals in the 400m and the 400m Hurdles at the CAC Juniors in El Salvador. Tia-Adana attended the 2013 World Youth Games in the Ukraine and won a silver medal in the 400m Hurdles.
Name: Lani Cabrera
DOB: April 22, 1993
Event: Swimming
Competing In: 400m Freestyle
Bio: Lani got started swimming in 1996 after she was encouraged by her parents. Lani’s first year on the national team was when she competed at CARIFTA 2006 on home soil in Barbados where she was a distance finalist. In 2011 she attended the CAC Juniors in Mexico where she also competed in the distance freestyle events. This year at CISC in Bahamas, Lani won the silver medal in the 400m Freestyle and the bronze medal in the 800m Freestyle.
Name: Levi Cadogan
DOB: November 8, 1995
Event: Track & Field
Competing In: 200m
Bio: In 2011, Levi took up athletics and in that year he represented Barbados at the 40th CARIFTA Games in Montego Bay, Jamaica. From there, Levi’s athletic career developed exponentially and, at the age of 17, Levi became the youngest ever Barbadian to represent Barbados in the 4x100m relay at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Athletics which was held in Moscow, Russia. He also became the first school-boy in Barbados’ history to sign a contract with a major international sporting brand. Later, at the age of 19, Levi became Barbados’ 100m national champion and also the youngest ever Barbadian to qualify for the 100m semi-finals at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics which was held in Beijing, China that year.
Name: Burkheart Ellis Jr.
DOB: September 18, 1992
Event: Track & Field
Competing In: 200m
Bio: Burkheart got started in athletics in the early 2000’s at the Roland Edwards Primary. He credits his mother for being the one who encouraged him to compete. He completed high school in the USA and earned a track scholarship to St. Augustine’s University in North Carolina. Ellis Jr. achieved his qualifying time for the 200m at Rio 2016 at the NCAA Division II Finals where he clocked 20.46.
Name: Ramon Gittens
DOB: July 20, 1987
Event: Track & Field
Competing In: 100m & 200m
Bio: Ramon Gittens was encouraged to take part in Track and Field by Alwyn Babb. He became BSSAC champion in the 100m and 200m while at the Lester Vaughn Secondary School. In 2001 at the CARIFTA Games in Trinidad he placed 3rd in the under 17 division. At the 2015 Pan American Games Ramon won a silver medal with a time of 10:07.
Name: Akela Jones
DOB: May 22, 1995
Event: Track & Field
Competing In: Heptathlon & High Jump
Bio: Akela Jones made her first national team at the age of 8 at the Caribbean Primary School Championships winning the long jump and 4×100 relay. Akela’s first junior win came at 12 at the CARIFTA games in St. Kitts where she won silver in the U17 High Jump. At her debut NACAC games in Santo Domingo she won two silver medals in the Long Jump and High Jump respectively.
Name: Darian King
DOB: April 26, 1992
Sport: Lawn Tennis
Competing In: Lawn Tennis
Bio: Darian is internationally recognized as the island’s most promising and highest ranked professional tennis player. His participation in (3) three Junior International Grand Slams – US Open, French Open, Wimbledon and Youth Olympics, has earned him the 47th Junior ITF world and 196th ATP ranked professional player. In July 2016, he created history once again by becoming the first player from Barbados to win an ATP event. He did that in Cali, Colombia after defeateing world #72 Victor Estrella and quickly backed that up with another ATP win at Binghamton.
Name: Michael Maskell
DOB: November 24, 1966
Event: Shooting
Competing In: Skeet
Bio: Michael Maskell is the oldest and most experienced member of the Barbados team, having represented Barbados in 4 previous Olympic Games, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Michael’s most recent achievements are 4th in the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011 and 9th in the World Championships in Lenato, Italy in 2015.
Name: Alex Sobers
DOB: November 13, 1998
Event: Swimming
Competing In: 400m Freestyle
Bio: Alex got started in the sport in 2004 at the age of 6. He has been encouraged throughout this period by his parents. In 2011, he attended CARIFTA and achieved Gold in the 200m Butterfly, Silver in the 200m Freestyle and Bronze in the 400m Freestyle.
Name: Jason Wilson
DOB: 1990
Event: Triathlon
Competing In: Triathlon
Bio: Jason Wilson made his ITU debut in 2001 and has since then made 15 World Triathlon Series starts. He will be Barbados’ first ever competitor on the Olympics stage for the Triathlon. One of Jason’s other sporting passions is that of Surfing.