Hilda Skeene honours Akela Jones with a day

The Hilda Skeen Primary School held a relay fair in honour of their past student athlete, Akela Jones. The day was coined Akela Jones day and was held on Friday at the school grounds to celebrate her achievements since leaving the school.

 

Akela Jones is a local legendary athlete who currently holds the Barbadian women’s records in the heptathlon, pentathlon, long jump and high Jump. She also won the gold in the long jump at the World Junior Championships in 2014. In 2015, she performed admirably once again to become NCAA champion in the heptathlon and took the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in the high Jump.

 

Before the overseas triumphs, she was competing locally and creating history as she qualified for and competed at the 2008 CARIFTA games at the young age of 12. There she came away with the silver medal in the Under 17 Girl’s high jump at a height of 1.71m, Two years later, in 2009 at the National Stadium, she cleared a height of 1.81m as a 13 year old which is currently still the world’s best for that age. Jones’ first gold at the CARIFTA games was in 2010 where she cleared 1.85m in the high jump to set the new record. That same year, she was the first Barbadian to win a PENN State event after she won the high jump at a height of 1.81m.

 

Jones is currently enrolled at Kansas State University, where as a student in 2015 she competed at the Pan American Games in Toronto and placed third in the high jump with a jump of 1.91m and sixth in the long jump with a leap of 6.60m, to set two new Barbadian outdoor records.

 

Blue House took the first title of Akela Jones Day having won 9 of the 15 relays run on the day in the Junior and Senior Divisions. It was a fitting victory as Jones hailed from Blue House when she was in school and also, Blue are the current champions of this year’s recently concluded inter-house sports day. The events on the day included the usual 4x100m Relays, but also male and female Swedish Relays which the first runner runs the 100m, the second 200m, the third 300m and the final runner 400m for a total of 1000m. At the final break before the last of the relays, Blue was in first with 204 points – 34 ahead of second place Yellow with 170. Green was third on 164 points and Red was fourth with 148. Blue did not relinquish the top spot as they came away with the title having amassed a dominant total of 264 points, having doubled their lead on the nearest rival. Green overtook Yellow to secure second place, to end just ahead with 196, while Yellow finished with 192. Red was unable to move up and finished the day with a commendable 170 points. (AS)