Jamaica: Tyrice Taylor wins Bronze at NACAC Championships, breaks National Record and Qualifies for Tokyo 2025

Jamaica: Tyrice Taylor took the bronze medal in the men’s 800 meters at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) Championships 2025 which took place on Saturday, August 16. The national champion crossed the finish line in 1:43.74, surpassing the World Championships qualifying standard of 1:44.50, and secured his spot in Tokyo.

During the championship, Taylor not only won the qualification, but also broke the national record time set of 1:44.50 which was set by Navasky Anderson. He finished fourth this year with a time record of 1:44.18, setting a new personal best. 

The 800 metres race was won by St Vincent’s Handal Roban, who passed the finishing line in 1:42.87 and broke the record previously held by American Ryan Martin (1:45.79). From the United States, Brandon Miller took second place in 1:43.74, finishing a little behind Taylor. 

Strong medal haul for Jamaica

Jamaica had an excellent day on Saturday, as they added 8 more medals to their total - four silver and four bronze, which brought their count for the first two days of the games to 15.

Nayoka Clunis opened the medal list with her silver in the women’s hammer throw which she did for 69.30m. On the track, Sanique Walker also got silver for the women’s 400m hurdles which she ran in 54.94, and Barbados’ Tia Adana Belle won the event in 53.67.

The men’s 400m hurdles saw Jamaica sweep a double win. Malik James-King took silver in 48.28, followed closely by Assinie Wilson who got the bronze in 48.75. The top honor went to United States' CJ Allen who also ran in 48.28 which was the same time as the silver medalist but was awarded the gold.

Christopher Taylor added another silver in the men’s 200m, finishing in 20.32, but narrowly missed the 20.18 mark for Tokyo. Canada’s Aaron Brown won gold in 20.27, with Puerto Rico’s Jose Figueroa in third place in 20.53.