Caribbean nation St. Vincent and Grenadines was expected to win at least one gold at the 2025 NACAC Championships in the Bahamian city of Freeport, but Handal Roban wasn't the first choice. He staged a couple of minutes later his countrywoman and Olympic fourth-placer Shafique Maloney lost her "expected" title to Nia Akins of the United States. The 22-year-old college guy stormed to the victory in the 800 metres final with a blistering 1:42.87, a huge personal best and national record.
Roban competed against a couple of Jamaican and Canadian rivals and a strong contender, Brandon Miller of the US, and ran conservatively in the beginning. He breezed past the fast-paced first lap as third by turning it in 50.5 seconds, then kept the momentum good until 150 metres to go. He gradually accelerated in the final bend, where five or six metres behind Miller in 100 metres to go, then clocked more than one and a half seconds inside of his previous best. He dragged four of his pursuivants to the World Championships standards as Brandon Miller, Tyrice Taylor, Navasky Anderson and Abdullahi Hassan were all clocked inside 1:45.
Handal Roban, a Penn State runner, competed in Paris last summer and was unable to advance to the semis. As a former CARIFTA Games winner, he achieved his best international victory in the Central American & Caribbean (CAC) Games 2023, where he secured 800 metres gold. The St.Vincent runner has now completed a set of 800m victories in NACAC territory, starting from U20, U23 and senior level.
As the summary
Handal Roban's 1:42.87 in the 800 metres:
- St.Vincent & Grenadines record
- NACAC Championships record
- All-time 48th place (World)
- All-time 9th place (NACAC)
By Athleticspodium.com
