Beyonce Defreitas strikes gold at American indoor championships!

British Virgin Islands athlete Beyonce Defreitas represents University of Central Florida

By MERRICK ANDREWS, Online News Editor

(JTV News) — The British Virgin Island’s Beyonce Defreitas, representing the University of Central Florida (UCF), won gold and bronze in the women’s 200 meters and 60 meters, respectively, at the Feb. 24-25 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships held in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States of America.

Defreitas, a senior at UCF, clocked 23.34 to win the 200m final after producing the second-fastest time, 23. 73, in the preliminaries.

Cecilia Tamayo-Garza of the University of Houston finished second with 23.56 after being the top qualifier from the preliminaries with 23.53.

Defreitas’s UCF teammates held on to third (Kiah Williams, 23.56), fourth (Daija Lampkin, 23.64), and fifth (Rayniah Jones, 23.83).

The former Elmore Stoutt High School student went on to take third place overall and the bronze in the women’s 60m final in 7.36 seconds. She entered the final with the fastest time of 7.34.

Her UCF teammate won the final in 7.29. Jones placed second in 7.35. Lampkin was fourth in 7.40.

However, Defreitas did not have much luck in the 4x400m relay. Defreitas along with Lampkin, Alicia Coleman, and Williams placed seventh in three minutes, 45. 91 seconds.

The Houston quartet of Iman Babineaux, Kelly-Ann Beckford, Linesha Thompson, and Sydni Townsend won with 3:37.90.

Defreitas, 21, is a 200m semi-finalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. She also competed in the same event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon where she was eliminated in the heats.