At the age of 19, Chantoba Naomi Bright has made quite a name for herself in the Track and Field World. According to UTEP Athletics, she was named youth athlete of the year (2016 and 2017), a CARIFTA Games nine-time medalist, and Inter-Guiana Games seven-time gold medalist.
Chantoba is currently Guyana’s most decorated Carifta Game Athlete after earning gold and silver medals last month in the Cayman Islands. She placed first at the 2018 Leonora Guyana U20 Championships in the long and triple jump, took gold and bronze at the 2018 Nassau CARIFTA Games in the long and triple jump, respectively, placed fifth in the long jump at the Nairobi IAAF World U18 Championships, posted a personal best of 1.65m in the high jump at the Leonora meet in 2017, notched a personal best of 6.30m in the long jump at the 2017 Leonora South American U20 Championships claiming first.
Chantoba was born on April 4, 2000, in Mackenzie, Linden to Saheed Bright and Melissa Joseph. She is a freshman at the University of Texas, on a full athletic scholarship where she is studying environmental science with a concentration in geology. She was recruited to the university by hurdles coach Lacena Golding-Clarke, a native of Jamaica.
“I’d never competed in America, but it wasn’t hard, actually,” Bright said. “I like El Paso, I like the culture. I like the food, there is so much of it.” she told the El Paso Times.
