Well done Handal Roban

VINCENTIAN MIDDLE- DISTANCE athlete, Handal Roban, continues to be a shining example of the virtues of arduous and demanding work coupled with dedication, as well as that unwavering desire for success in the sport.

These were exemplified last Saturday, August 16, 2025, when, at the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Open Championships staged at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex, Freeport, Bahamas, he won gold in the 800m event.

Not only did his 1:42.87 clocking give St Vincent and the Grenadines its first gold at that the championships, but Roban reset his own personal best and the national record.

Additionally, Roban, who attends Penn State University in the USA, broke that institution’s record in the two- lap event, bettering Isaiah Harris’ 1:44.42.

Roban’s time became the second fastest in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) history in the men’s 800m, all in one run.

Prior to last Saturday’s feat, Roban, on Thursday, August 7, 2025, at the West Chester Mile in Henderson, Pennsylvania, USA, timed 1:44.39, which earned him direct qualification to next month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

His sub 1:45 was elusive for the 22 -year-old (who turns 23 this September) who, for a few years has been chipping off the St Vincent and the Grenadines all time male 800m record.

Since eclipsing Eversley Linley’ s 1992 best time of 1:48.60, lowering it to 1:48.37 in August, 2021 at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Kenya, Roban has not relented.

One year later, 2022 in the Bahamas, Roban carried the 800m record to 1:47.03.

Then in June, 2023, Roban shaved off more of the record with a 1:45.95 run.

In June of this year, Roban rubbed out some hundredths of a second, when he ran 1:45.05.

In between, he carved out a name for himself when he ran the fastest split time in the High School Boys Category of the Penn Relays, then a student at Jamaica College.

Those who follow Track and Field closely will acknowledge that the constant gnawing away at his times, does not come easily.

Five years ago, 2020, Roban was clocking 1:52 plus. Hence in the five years, he has been able take of 10 seconds.

It is projected that given the trajectory that Roban is on, one expects that barring injury, he may well go sub- 1:42. Following last Saturday’s clocking, Roban had the 14th best time in the 800m for 2025, and has a world ranking of 29th .

This is not only encouraging for Roban, but the prospects are huge for St Vincent and the Grenadines should Roban continue on this pathway.

Despite his early adult life, Roban has already been admired by many Vincentian athletes, providing inspiration for them and hope in an

uncertain, dark and sometimes dreary world. But Roban’s sustaining his form and tenacity comes with a financial cost, inclusive of competitions, nutrition, and other incidentals needed to produce any athlete of note who wants to excel on the world stage.

With the incremental rise of Roban and the established Shafiqua Maloney, St Vincent and the Grenadines has a duo of 800m athletes who have given the country much needed international publicity and advertisement.

That is simply the powers that sports possesses. Therefore, the policy makers and stakeholders should already be preparing for the next hopefuls that emerge from St Vincent and the Grenadines.

This is, not withstanding the fact that both Roban and Maloney, after their embryonic stages, travelled outside of St Vincent and the Grenadines to have their talents harnessed.

Roban, after leaving the St Vincent Grammar School went to Jamaica College, then to Penn State in the USA.

Similarly, Maloney went from Thomas Saunders Secondary to Verchilds, St Kitts, then on to Southern Illinois University, before ending at the University of Arkansas.

Apart from the commitment of Roban and Maloney, value was added via coaching and better facilities for training. There are more Robans and Maloneys here in St Vincent and the Grenadines, but the right development structures and building blocks are needed to ensure that nexus from talent to success is realized.