Barbadian high jumpers Kiami Rae Orford and Shania Motley are brimming with confidence ahead of their events at the 52nd CARIFTA Games, which gets under at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago today.
Both athletes will be among the first to represent Barbados on the opening day of the regional track and field championships, competing in the Under-17 girls’ high jump.
Orford, who placed fifth in the same event last year, is determined to step onto the podium this time around. “I’m feeling very well. I feel very confident in my ability to do my best tomorrow morning,” she said during a pre-event interview.
Reflecting on her preparation, the young athlete explained, “I’ve mainly been working on my run-up and my spacing to take the bar. Mainly my run-up and my planting, but that’s about it really. And my acceleration to get over.”
Last year’s CARIFTA experience has served as a strong motivator for Orford. “It’s helped me because I’ve met a lot of people and it has encouraged me. It’s inspired me to do better this year… So it has inspired me a lot to do as best as I could and hopefully medal this year.”
Her teammate, Shania Mottley, is making her CARIFTA debut but is equally poised to make an impact. “I’m feeling pretty awesome,” said the St Michael School student. “The build-up to the competition has been pretty awesome and I think I’m ready to perform tomorrow.”
Motley has also been fine-tuning key aspects of her technique. “Ahead of tomorrow, I’ve been working on my over-the-bar technique and also my run-up and I think we’ve fixed it. If not by a lot, we still fixed it,” she said with a smile.
Despite a few nerves, she is mostly filled with excitement. “I’m feeling great, excited, a little bit of fear, but mostly excitement.”
Motley recently travelled to North Carolina with her school and believes the experience was invaluable. “It was basically a stepping stone for the start of my overseas competition. So, it was an exposure to how my overseas competitions will go and I enjoyed the trip.”
With both girls confident and well-prepared, Team Barbados will be hoping for an early medal boost from their high jump hopefuls. (JC)