Trinidad and Tobago national sprinter Shaniqua Bascombe says that training in Jamaica has benefited her development tremendously on and off the track, and is encouraging other local athletes to do the same.
Bascombe, who recently triumphed in the girls’ 200 metre dash at Velocity Fest 19, has been based in Jamaica for over a year with track and field club Uptimum, as she eyes qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Twenty-two-year-old Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Shaniqua Bascombe is one of this country’s top-performing athletes in the discipline. In 2025, the Maraval native struck gold in the Pan American Junior Games women’s 100 metre final. Following that, she recently made a huge impression in Jamaica, winning the 200 metre final at Velocity Fest 19 while clocking a new personal best in that event and the 100 metre.
In her ultimate journey towards qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games, Bascombe has made the transition to Jamaica for over a year now, where she trains with track and field club Uptimum. A decision that she doesn’t regret.
“Training in Jamaica makes a big difference. It has made me more calm, more mature. Because I am living by myself all day, and it is scary. But it is just something different that I have never experienced before. And the training environment is good, very good, I can’t complain about it.”
When asked about the recent trend of more local track and field athletes plying their trade in Jamaica, Bascombe stated that it’s something she would recommend, but added that it is an expensive investment.
“Yeah, I would encourage it because you are going to experience something different. You are going to the land of where sprinting is, where all the fast athletes are. Because if you realise, Jamaica and the US are the places where the top athletes are. So I would definitely recommend somebody going to Jamaica to train.”
“My plan, my goal, my plan right now is to break the national record in the 200 metre event. And everything else is up to my coach to do it.”