Richard Williams
There is no doubt that Akela Jones from Barbados is an all-round talent and her journey to the 2016 Olympics in Rio Brazil might put her on the medal podium.
if you don’t know her current achievements to date, let me fill you in. Jones currently holds Barbadian records in the women’s heptathlon, pentathlon, long jump and high jump. In 2014 she won gold in the long jump at World Junior Championships. She followed up in 2015 by capturing the NCAA championship title in heptathlon. Showing her all-round talent, Jones earn a bronze medal in the high jump at the Pan American Games.
WATCH: As Kansas State’s express high praise for Akela Jones
The entire country of Barbados will be supporting Akela and many from across the Caribbean will be too.
On the Line with Akela Jones | SportsMax TV
On this segment of On The Line, Alex Jordan interviews Barbadian Olympian Akela Jones about qualifying for Tokyo 2021, stepping back from track and field, her love for fashion and much more!
Akela Jones focused on doing better
Barbados Today-Barbados’ top female long jumper Akela Jones says that the recent challenges she has faced have only motivated her to better herself for future endeavours.
Speaking in a telephone interview with Barbados TODAY, the national record holder in the long jump said she has already set her sights on future events.
“This season proved to be a great season where I broke the national record. If my best was not enough to qualify for the Olympics, I’ll continue to push myself even more for the championships next season. Missing out on the Olympics like any other athlete is just a pitfall we must overcome. So I take not making it as motivation to train harder and continue building upwards,” Jones said.
The twenty-six-year-old suffered an injury quite recently adding to the disappointment of not qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics but remained coy on the status of the injury or how far she is in the recovery process. She preferred to highlight the Barbadian athletes on show in the Olympics.
“I’ve been tuning into the games, and I’m proud of all our Barbadian athletes thus far. As track and field is about to commence, I’m sure the track athletes will give us nothing but their best, just as the swimmers did. I am super proud of all our athletes and staff,” she said.
There has been some controversy recently regarding the relationship between media and national athletes due to the way some outlets have assessed their abilities and performances at the Olympics. Asked her thoughts on this, she said: “The results will speak for themselves.
All our athletes have qualified to be at these games, they have qualified and deserve the same credit the rest of the world is receiving. I believe all parties; athletes, associations and federations, media and the general public, can always do more to bring recognition to the countless hours of hard work that goes into this thing called sport. It’s a collective effort, none is independent of the other.”
In the meantime, Jones’ focus now turns to continuing training and getting in the best possible position to attend and compete in upcoming competitions before the season ends. In the last few seasons, she has opted to compete in just the long jump but has kept all other options on the table. Away from the field, she has been focusing on the arts as well as growing her business Edged X Echelon.
