Discus thrower Tiara DeRosa leapt for joy after setting a national record of 50.07 to meet the qualifying standard for the 2026 Commonwealth Games at the Bermuda National Athletics Association Tracks & Field Championships on Saturday.

With the Commonwealth Games qualification window having opened on May 1, DeRosa became the first Bermuda athlete to book her spot in Glasgow with the network engineer making sure those watching at Flora Duffy Stadium knew she had surpassed her previous record of 48.91, which was set in 2018.

“The feeling is phenomenal and I still have butterflies in my stomach," the 27-year-old told The Royal Gazette.

“Once I got into my standing position for the throw and felt all my weight transferred, I knew it was going to be a good throw.

“I set the old record when I was 19. Since then, changing coaches and school as well as Covid-19, and trying to get my groove and niche back again, that’s what I’ve been working on after college.

“It was all about breaking down my technique all over again. I developed a couple of bad habits after college, so it was about getting rid of them.

“I did find coaching here and overseas to help me with analysing my throws. Gerry Swan and Terry-Lynn Paynter have really helped me a lot.

DeRosa, who represented Bermuda at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, was fixated on breaching the 50-metre mark.

“I didn’t know that I had qualified for the Commonwealth Games,” she said.

“My mind was focused on getting 50 metres because I knew I could throw that since college. Now that I’ve done it, I’m so proud of myself and now I can aim for 55 metres; that’s got to be the new goal.”

Caitlyn Bobb and Jah-Nhai Perinchief had been the major attractions on Friday night, the first day of competition.

Bobb, fresh from success with Virginia Tech on the collegiate scene, clocked 53.46sec to win the women’s 400 metres.

“It was really nice racing at home as it's always nice to come back and see family and the community,” the 22-year-old said.

“I met a lot more new people and got to introduce myself to new people as well.”

The second day of the meet started with Ryan Outerbridge leading home the men’s 1,500 metres in 4min 11.44sec. Outerbridge was meant to run the 5,000 metres against Sean Trott but the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby champion could not make it.

“I used the 1,500 metres as a workout to help me build mileage,” said Outerbridge, who beat youngsters Cameron Adkins and Jake Smith.

“I’m working on a big training block, where I am aiming to run 100 miles a week. At the moment I’m at 85, so I’m slowly building up to 100.

“I was sitting behind to see how fast I could move my legs in the last lap, and finish strong. Cameron Adkins and Jake Smith have a lot of talent and they showed it at the Carifta Games. They’re still young and have growing to do but I can see potential in both of them.

“I’m preparing for the NACAC Championship in Bahamas in August and after that my season is over. I’ll be training on the island up until I go to Bahamas with the Bermuda team.

“I’m done with collegiate running. I’ll be making a jump to a semi-professional circuit and continue with my running journey.”

Adkins, who won a silver medal for Bermuda at the Carifta Games in Trinidad & Tobago, was delighted to end his season on home turf.

“It was nice to come back and run in different conditions” the 16-year-old said.

“It was humid here while in the US it’s drier conditions. This was the last race of the season for me. For the next couple of months I’ll just be training and building up miles for next season, which starts in November.”

Amaris Munya and Kelise Wade were involved in one of the closest races in the 800 metres. Munya led the way after the first lap but Wade made a strong push on the second to stop the clock in 2:24.87, two hundredths of a second ahead of her rival.

Wade spoke of how she was optimistic heading into the race.

“I had high hopes because it was just the three of us,” she said.

“But I was nervous at the start of the race due to the weather conditions, it was extremely hot. Having run the 200 in the morning and the 400 the night before, my legs were heavy.

“When the gun went off, I tried my best to stay with the other competitors. When we went for the first lap, I saw my split and saw that I was doing fine.

“Coming to the last 150 metres, I felt like I had more energy inside. I tried pushing myself beyond my comfort zone, gave it all I had and it came down to a photo finish

“I was happy with the result. I just know I tried my best in the race and good things came out of it.”

While she did not achieve any personal bests during the meet, Munya, who was racing for the last time on the island before she leaves for school in Florida, was content with picking up three medals over the two days.

“I'm happy that I was able to obtain two golds and a silver, not everyone got that so I’m grateful,” the 15-year-old said.

“However, I had times in mind that I wanted to run and unfortunately I didn’t make them. I knew the times I wanted to get and I didn’t get them, but I am perfectly OK with that."

“I’m excited for the next chapter I have going for me. I’ll be attending boarding school overseas in the fall and I’m excited for the opportunities and the improvement that I know I will see when I am there.

“Overall, I’m impressed with my 2025 season, I qualified for my third consecutive Carifta Games, made my first Carifta final and I’m proud of my accomplishments. I’m not going to allow some bad races to dictate my whole season because I won some, I lost some and it made me a better athlete.”

Surii Russell attained a personal best in the 400 metres on Friday, when he ran 50.62 in a race won by Zydon Lightbourne-Furbert in 50.32.

“I tried my best to keep up with Zydon because he runs a faster time,” Russell said.

“I thought if I kept up with him and kept pushing, in the last 100 metres I would beat him. I didn’t win but I got a PB and I did my best.

“I felt good in the 800, I didn’t get a PB but I came first. It’s pretty hard to get a PB as there’s not much competition in the 800.”

Aaron Lugo was busy over the two days balancing track and field events. The 16-year-old won the long jump with a personal best of 5.81 metres.

On the track, the Bermuda Pacers athletes won silver in the 200 metres, clinched gold in the mixed 4x100 relay and finished sixth in the 100 metres.

“Balancing between track and field for me is not as hard,’’ the 16-year-old said.

“I always try to stay on top of my work during school, so I don’t have to do anything when I get home.”

“I’m aiming to jump six metres in the long jump and to bring down my time in the 100.”

Freddie Evans, the BNAA president, felt that the presence of Bobb, Outerbridge, Sakari Famous, Perinchief and Suresh Black served as an inspiration to the young athletes.

“We are proud of the contribution by our athletes and we just want to build on that,” Evans said

“They were once young so for them to come back and run at home inspires our next generation of athletes. For the young athletes, winning medals means a lot to them and they’ll be back next year.

“Our local season is over, we’ll be going on trips from now on until the World Championships in September.”