APHANSO CUNNINGHAM, O.D.
Alphanso“Ambassador” Cunningham’s credentials as a Paralympian achiever is well known and celebrated. Confidently efficient, he is very familiar with the top of the medal podium at international championships in track and field where the national anthem is played in recognition of his golden successes.
World Games, Birmingham, England – 2003
Gold – Discus
Para Pan American Games, Argentina – 2003
Gold, Discus (Pan American Record)
Gold, Javelin
Paralympic, Athens, Greece – 2004
Gold, Discus (World/Olympic Record)
World Games, Assens, Netherlands – 2006
Silver, Discus
Para Pan American Games, Brazil – 2007
Gold, Discus
Silver, Javelin
Paralympic, Beijing, China – 2008
Placed 4th in the Discus Final
USA Americas Cup (Qualifying Event) USA – 2010
Gold, Discus (Meet Record)
Gold Javelin (Meet Record)
Para Pan American Games,Guadalajara, Mexico – 2011
Gold, Discus (Para Pan American Record)
Silver, Javelin
Paralympic Games, London, UK – 2012
Gold, Javelin (Regional Record)
Para Pan American Games, Toronto, Canada – 2015
Gold, Discus (F51/F52/F53/F57)
Bronze, Javelin (F51/F52/F53/F57)
Paralympic Gamea, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 2016
Placed 5th Men’s F54 Javelin.
Placed 10th Men’s F54 Shot Put
Also a wheelchair basketball athlete with distinction, Alphanso has been there, done it and continues to do it with supreme authority.
Shane Hudson
From the tender age of six, Shane demonstrated a serious love for running competitively. To date, he has not waned but intensified with the successes he has earned in his amateur career.
At Grayer Field Basic School, he was admired for his ability to move fast while others seemed at a standstill and this reputation followed him toMoneaguePrimary where he represented the school, while in Grade Four, in the 60m dash and 150m. On graduating to Grade Five, he participated in the 100m, 200m, and 400m where he seldom was in any position other than first.
MoneagueJunior High was no different. Being the competitor he is, he represented the school, while in Grade seven, in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and the relays, and was its golden boy. Being the multifaceted person he is, his exploits extended to the long jump where the measure of his talent was just short of the length of the pit.
But it was at Ocho Rios High that others truly appreciated his talent as an athlete while competing at the Central Championships and Western Relays in the 200m and 400m which have now become his signature events. Medals were gained and more came when in 2006 and 2007 he represented Jamaica, as a Special Olympian, at the celebrated Penn Relays in Frankfield, in the United States, where on each occasion he ran from behind the leaders on the anchor leg to strike gold for his country.
He graduated from the paralympic movement in 2009 and then began what no doubt would be an inspiring record in athletics.
Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India – 2010
Placed 3rd insemi-final 100m
Para Pan American Games, Guadalajara, Mexico – 2011
Silver – T 47400m
Placed 6th – T 47 200m final
IPC World Athletics Championships, Lyon, France – 2013
Finalist T47 400m(DNS)
Para Pan American Games, Toronto, Canada – 2015
Silver – T 47 400m
IPC World Athletics Championships, Doha, Qatar – 2015
Silver T 47 400m
Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 2016
Placed fourth T 47 400m
Sylvia Grant, O.D
Sylvia Grant, the most decorated Jamaican female Paralympian in recent history.
Focused and centered, Sylvia is a study of concentration and determination in achieving success, and her loyalty to the Paralympic movement is admirable and so is her record.
Para-Olympic, Korea – 1988
Silver, Pentathlon (Silver, Discus, Silver, Javelin)
Pan American Games, Venezuela – 1989
Gold, Pentathlon (Gold Discus, Gold, Javelin)
World Games, England Birmingham – 1990
Silver, Pentathlon (Gold, Discus, Silver, Javelin)
Para-Olympic, Barcelona, Spain – 1992
Silver, Discus
Para-Olympic, USA, Atlanta – 1996
Bronze, Discus
Pan American Games, Mexico – 1999
Gold, Discus
Paralympic Games, Sydney, Australia – 2000
Finalist
World Games, France – 2002
Silver, Discus
World Games, England, Birmingham 2003
Bronze, Discus
Bronze, Javelin
Para Pan American Games, Argentina – 2003
Gold, Discus
Silver, Javelin
Paralympic, Athens – 2004
Finalist
World Games, Netherlands, Assens – 2006
Finalist
Para Pan American Games, Brazil – 2007
Silver, Javelin
Paralympic Games, Beijing, China – 2008
Finalist
USA Americas Cup – 2010
Gold, Discus
Silver, Javelin
Para Pan American Games – 2011
Silver, Javelin (Para Pan American Record, F57)
She continues the journey of accomplishments with untiring faith in her own ability and buoyed by her several successes
Tanto Campbell, O.D
Anyone who knows Tanto Campbell or even has a nodding acquaintance with him, will attest to the mettle of the man who is a champion of his game on and off the field of competition.
He is a competitor, fair but firm. He is sportsman by the rules and by example; and he is a Paralympian in nature and by achievement.
Just take a look at his enviable track record:
Orlando, Florida, USA – 2002
Silver – Discus
British Open, England – 2003
Gold – Discus
Para Pan American Games, Argentina – 2003
Gold – Discus
Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece – 2004
Bronze – Discus
IPC World Athletic Championships, Assens, Netherlands – 2006
Gold – Discus (World Record)
Commonwealth Games – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia – 2006
Gold – Discus
Para Pan American Games, Brazil – 2007
Silver – Discus
Paralympic Games, Beijing, China – 2008
Bronze – Discus
Para Pan American Games, Guadalajara, Mexico – 2008
Silver – Discus
IPC World Athletics Championships – 2013
Para Pan American Games, Toronto, Canada – 2015
Gold, Men’s F56 Javelin
Silver Men’s F56 Discus
IPC World Athletics Championships, Doha, Qatar Placed 5(h Men’s F56 Discus
Placed 7th Men’s F56 Javelin
Yet with all that metallic glory he remains grounded and determined to help capitalize and give value to the Paralympic movement with a personal investment of loyalty, commitment, and goodwill.
Chairman of the Jamaica Wheelchair Basketball Federation and the Federation’s delegate to the Americas Wheelchair Basketball Federation, Tanto is dedicating his time and overtime to developing this Paralympic sport nationally and regionally. His gaze is focused on the basket, his hand is steady yet nimble for the shoot and his mission will be accomplished.
A Capital and Credit Merchant Bank scholarship recipient, his goal is to read law in his bid to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree and after that to qualify as Counsel at the Jamaica Bar.
So for him, the journey has not ended. It continues as he climbs new mountains in reaching further horizons.
Theodor Subba
After only learning Judo in 2018 for a few months, Theodor Subba won bronze in the over 100kg class at the 2019 Para Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru to become Jamaica’s first visually impaired athlete to compete and win a medal in Judo.
Today, the 25-year-old has his eyes set on competing and medaling in the Paralympic Games in Paris 2024.
Hailing from the community of Grange Hill in Westmoreland, Subba attended the Salvation Army School for the Blind.
“My mother sending me to that school singlehandedly changed my life,” the Paralympian said.
“I went there from age two. No doubt it was hard for my mother to part from her two-year-old child at the time.
“When I reached the school, they said I was always running up and down. At home, the space was much smaller and so I was always bumping into things but Salvation Army was designed to facilitate persons with visual impairment.”
Subba was then transferred to Calabar High School where he completed his secondary education.
He noted that the Kingston-based boys’ school was very accessible and accommodating towards his disability.
“They had a lot of questions. The boys were very curious. I don’t think the teachers were trained but they handled persons with visual impairment to the best of their abilities. I was able to do my exams and classwork. I made a lot of friends too. I did everything that the other boys did at Calabar.”
Subba recalled the school’s vice principal at the time, saying: “You know boy, you can’t see but you are in everything.”
Subba shared that, while there are instances where he needs assistance, he tries to be as independent as possible.
He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Social Work at the University of the West Indies.
He explained that social work was something he always wanted to do. “Growing up with a disability, I felt that if I had someone to talk to sometimes, who could empathise with me, I would be better off. I want to give someone what I didn’t have growing up.”
Shauna Kay Hines
Focused and determined, she complements these attributes with an appetite to learn and humility to master the art and science of the sport. Taekwondo is her sport and she continues to own it with conviction.
US Open Para-Taekwondo Championships – January 2017
Silver Medal (Class K44 58g)
Aruba Open Taekwondo Championships – May 2017
Earned points toward the 2020 Paralympic qualification
2017 RJR Gleaner Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Award:
– Para Sports Female Athlete of the Year; and
– Taekwondo Athlete of the Year
US Open Taekwondo Championships – January 2018
Silver Medal (Class K44 58g)
Pan Am Para Open International Taekwondo Championships – July 2018
Bronze Medal (Class K44 58g)
2018 RJR/Gleaner Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Award:
– Para Sports Female Athlete of the Year
Marloe Rodman
National cyclist Marloe Rodman is set to represent Jamaica at the Pan American Para-Cycling Track and Road Championships in Maringa, Brazil this week.
The races are scheduled for March 17-20.
Rodman, who has a paralyzed upper limb from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in 2018, will be the first Jamaican athlete to represent the nation in para-cycling.
Prior to his injury, Rodman was a multiple national track cycling champion and has represented Jamaica at several international competitions.
Rodman, who left the island on Sunday, is set to do the scratch race and omnium, which is his speciality event on the track, as well as the road race. This event is a qualifier for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.