Albert Resets Weight Throw Record

Saint Lucia now has four new national records in track and field for 2025, after University of Memphis Tigers junior Natalie Albert raised the mark in the women’s weight throw on Friday, Valentine’s Day. Albert’s throw was also the third best outing this season in the American Athletic Conference.

Competing at the Samford Bulldog Invitational in the Birmingham Metro CrossPlex, Albert spun the four-kilogramme weight out to 18.58m (60′ 11.5″) on her sixth and final trial to seal the top spot. She had previously thrown 18.57m on her second throw to establish a new career best, before fouling two of her next three attempts. She just edged teammate Riley Simmons, who took second with a throw of 18.54m in the fourth round. Simmons took the lead in the opening round with an 18.31m performance.

Albert’s throw upped the standard for her event, erasing Lauralynn Clifford’s 18.41m from the record books. Clifford, who also holds the national record for hammer throw, had established the previous record last February at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational. The Coastal Carolina University student-athlete had held the weight throw national record since 2023.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Albert, who attended high school in Jamaica, was introduced to weight throw just over two years ago, when she took up a scholarship at Iowa Western Community College. Since then, she has improved steadily, and she has now thrown personal-best marks three times in the past week alone.

Last weekend, Albert won the women’s weight throw in both the Vulcan Invite and Green and Gold Invite at University of Alabama Birmingham, notching what was, at the time, a personal-best 18.26m throw in the process.

Also on Friday, Julien Alfred ran 52.97 seconds to set a new Saint Lucia national record in the women’s 400m. Earlier in the season, she also lowered the national mark for the 300m, whilst Khailan Vitalis got a new record in the men’s 60m hurdles.