SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2025
Bahamas on medal hunt after Xavion’s historic judo bronze By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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fter getting its first medal on the first day of competition, Team Bahamas was back in full swing for another medal at the second Junior Pan American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay. In the pool at the Asunción’s Olympic Aquatic Centre, Team Bahamas placed sixth in the final of the mixed medley 4 x 100m SWIMMER Zoe Williams and archer Leron Rolle, right, in action at the 2025 Jr Pan American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay.
KEVIN DALEY WINS ROAD CYCLING RACE CHALLENGE – PAGE 2
relay in a time of three minutes and 37.23 seconds. Elyse Wood, who was a part of the mixed relay team, competed in an individual event as well where she came in eighth place in the women’s 100m butterfly in 1:03.37. Wood secured her place in the final with a personal best of 1:03.14 - a thirdplace finish in her heat. Also in action yesterday was marksman Leron Rolle who faced off against Colombia’s Sebastian Villegas in the men’s archery quarterfinals. Rolle, however, fell to his opponent 126 to 144. With the loss, he does not advance in the medal rounds. The Bahamas is still holding onto its first medal from judoka Xavion Johnson, who made history
by winning the bronze medal in the men’s -66 kg category. Johnson made his debut with a stunning victory in the quarterfinals against Mexican Ian Aguirre, whom he defeated by ippon in just a few seconds. In the semifinals, he lost to Brazilian Bruno Nobrega, but recovered with determination in the bronze-medal match, where he defeated Peruvian Mateo Cóndor by ippon at 3:06 minutes. The Bahamas still has a few more swimmers to compete in individual events at the games, including Olympian Lamar Taylor. The four-member track team has yet to see competition in the games that is scheduled to wrap up on August 23.
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PHERON’S INAUGURAL BASEBALL ACADEMY SUMMER CAMP A HIT By Jonathan Burrows DOZENS of young athletes gathered at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex yesterday morning in anticipation of day one of Pheron Charlton’s inaugural TM Baseball Academy baseball summer camp. The three-day camp aims to provide young baseball players in The Bahamas with baseball training and development. Day one began with registration and the designation of jerseys and practice equipment for each athlete. After the registration period, the camp officially began with a warm-up session, followed by intense baseball drills aimed at developing players’ athleticism, speed, agility, base running, sliding techniques, and batting and fielding techniques. “Everyone gets the same training, everyone gets to develop the same. At the end of the day, the goal is for everyone to go home and be able to say that they worked on something today,” said Charlton. Charlton, a Bahamian baseball standout athlete and current senior at the Florida Memorial University, also expressed what his plans are for the camp in the near future. “This is the first one I’m hosting, and I do plan on having future camps like this. I do look forward to having something in December for Christmas, so stay tuned for that but, as far as summer camps, I definitely do plan on having more summer camps as I transition out of college and
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SPONSORS NATIONAL BLTA president Newton BPL YOUTH TEAM FOR THE FIDE UNDER-16 CHESS OLYMPIAD impressed with Team Bahamas’ performance IN a landmark moment for Bahamian chess, Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) is proud to sponsor the national youth chess team as they prepare to represent the nation at the FIDE World Youth Under16 Chess Olympiad, August 16-23 in Barranquilla, Colombia. This marks the highesttier international chess event that a Bahamian youth team has ever attended - bringing together elite young athletes from 40 national federations with 207 teams, comprising
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) president Perry Newton was impressed with the performance of Team Bahamas at the American Zone IV Davis Cup Tie in Trinidad & Tobago over the weekend. The team of Denali Nottage, Michael Major Jr, Donte Armbrister and Kofi Bowe, captained by John Antonas, emerged undefeated in their five games, including the final on Saturday against host Trinidad & Tobago, to get promoted back to Zone III. As he watched the week-long competition at the National Racquet Sports Centre in Tacarigua, Newton said it was extremely tough, but the players stuck to their game plan, which was to return to Zone III. “It was a very thrilling week and just watching the team perform, we were very excited,” Newton said. “We always knew that our team would do very well. But these guys went out and proved that
powerhouses like China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Italy, Georgia and Cuba. Previously, The Bahamas’ youth team has made its mark in regional competitions such as the Pan-American Youth Chess Festival and the Central American and Caribbean Chess Youth Festival. This global leap forward offers Bahamian athletes the chance to test their skills against the world’s best under-16 players and gain invaluable international
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THE SPORTS CALENDAR
Aug.
BAHAMAS executives greeting Team Bahamas on their return home from the Davis Cup tie in Trinidad & Tobago. they were focused and they had a job to accomplish and they had a goal for us to perform and they did it. So after each victory, the underlying theme was it was a good day, but we still have so much more to do.” As long-time teammates coming up the junior ranks, Newton said the four players had a cohesiveness that enabled them to bond together and get the job done. “The captain did a marvelous job of keeping
everybody together every day,” Newton said. “So we’re just hoping that these players can continue to stick together and continue to blossom in their careers.” Looking back at the matches, from day one when Major Jr went down with an ankle injury after Team Bahamas won 2-1 over Cuba, Newton said the other players stepped up and filled in the gap. He noted that Nottage played extremely well as
the top seeded player on the team and Armbrister got the job done in the No.2 spot with Major Jr not able to continue to play. Newton was just as impressed with Bowe, who made his debut on the team, but performed extremely well in doubles as he paired up with Armbrister and Nottage for three of their four doubles victories.
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BASKETBALL BBSF TOURNAMENT THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation is scheduled to hold a meeting 6pm Thursday, August 28 at its office upstairs in the Bahamas Baptist College, Jean Street, for all churches interested in participating in the 2025 Basketball Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for the
weekend of September 26-27 at the CI Gibson Gymnasium for the 12-and under and open divisions. Each team will consist of 12 players. Trophies sponsored by AID will be distributed to the champions and runnersup in each category as well as medals for the third-place teams. Interested persons can contact
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