Ayden Cintron and Sofia Swindell after their wins at the 2026 CARIFTA Games in Grenada.
Last updated at 9:22 a.m. on Tuesday April 7, 2026.
Team U.S. Virgin Islands clinched two medals at the recently concluded CARIFTA Games in Grenada, standing tall on the podium in the Boys 5,000M and Girls 100M Hurdles.
Described as a sprint hurdles specialist, Sofia Swindell captured the bronze medal on Sunday with a run of 13.94s. It is her second bronze medal in the event, having placed in that position at the 2024 edition of the games. A student at the University of Pennsylvania, Swindell holds a local record for the event, with a personal best of 13.49s.
Also bringing glory to the USVI was Ayden Cintron who placed second of out eight participants in the U20 5000 meter race. It is the longest track event of the competition. Cintron completed the race in 16:03:61, besting the third place medalist by approximately 4 seconds, and securing a silver medal for his efforts.
Cintron is no stranger to accomplishments, having set a new Virgin Islands U20 record at the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships earlier this year.
Over 25 Caribbean nations including Bermuda, Belize, Haiti, French Guyana, and Monsterrat participated in the 3-day tournament. The 2026 games were the 53rd since the event began in 1972. At the end of this year’s track and field events, Jamaica emerged with the most medals, 71 in total.
The 2027 CARFITA games will be held in either St. Kitts and Nevis or Trinidad and Tobago. An official announcement is expected in two weeks.
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