The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama sprinter Terrence Jones said he couldn’t be more satisfied with the way he’s performed so far.

The Texas Tech Raiders won the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Indoor 60 metre title in a Bahamian national record time of 6.46 in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 11.

The 20-year-old Jones went outdoors and ran a lifetime best of 9.91 at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida on April 15 to tie Derek Atkins’ Bahamian national record of 9.91 that he established in winning the silver at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan in 2007.

At the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas on June 7, Jones ended up fourth in the final of the 100m in 10.06.

He closed out the meet by getting on the podium with a third place finish in the 200m in a lifetime best of 19.87 on June 9.

“I had a few ups and downs, but God pulled me through it, so I’m pretty satisfied,” said Jones as he came home and captured the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) national title in the men’s 100m last week at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

“The highlight of my season was winning the NCAA indoor title in the 60m. That really set the tone for me for the rest of my season.”

Despite not winning the NCAA outdoor title, Jones said he will take what he got.

“I was just pleased to do it at the time of the season,” Jones said. “It didn’t quite go as I expected, but I came away with a huge PB (personal best), so I will take that.”

In his return home for the nationals, Jones clocked 10.15 to win the men’s century, but he said he just wanted to give the Bahamian public a taste of what to expect from him this summer.

“It’s always good to be back and to run in front of the home crowd,” Jones said. “It was a good experience.”

Before he goes to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, August 19-27, Jones will be a part of the team representing the Bahamas at the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Under-23 Championships August 4-6 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

“I want to take my performances into the 2024 year of the Olympic Games as one of the top contenders,” Jones said. “So I am hoping that I can just finish the season injury free. It would be nice to come out with a couple of medals as well.”

Jones, however, knows that he will have to run close or even break the national record if he will be a contender, especially at the World’s where he will be facing the top competitors on the planet.

“The past two years has taught me a lot. I’ve learnt a lot,” Jones said. “It was an eye opener for me to trust God with whatever he has planned for me. I have trusted his timing. Whatever his time is, it’s his time for me.”

Jones will skip participation in the sixth Bahamas Games this weekend as he returned to Texas to get in some fine tuning for his next two trips. He said he had a pretty good season on the track and in the classroom and he’s eager to see what God has in store for him.

“The goal right now is to make all of the major national teams, including the Olympics next year,” said Jones, who is looking forward to making that trip to Paris, France. “I don’t just want to make the team, but I want to be able to get into the final and hopefully contend for a medal.”

While there is a lot of pressure on competing after a long collegiate season where athletes are accustomed to running from indoors to outdoors just about every weekend from December to June, Jones said he’s taking it all in stride.