Barbadian track and field athletes could be facing an uphill battle to qualify for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
This follows the international governing body for athletics releasing stiff standards for the prestigious meet.
Two of Barbados’ leading coaches, Gabriel Burnett and Alwyn Babb, expressed concern that several Barbadian competitors will be at a major disadvantage after seeing the tough qualifying requirements for the meet scheduled for August 19-27, 2023.
World Athletics, formerly the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), has made it mandatory that men sprinters will have to clock 10.00 seconds in the 100 metres while the women are asked to run 11.08 seconds.
It would mean that a Barbadian woman would have to break the current national record of 11.14 seconds set by Tristan Evelyn last year to automatically qualify, while the men face a daunting task. (AGB)