by RJ Michaels
- Winning time of 20.27 seconds equals Grenadian national senior record for 200m event
- John moves to NCAA Division I National Championships, scheduled from 10–13 June
- Aspires to be first Grenadian to go sub-20
Grenadian sprinter Nazzio John has officially qualified for the 2026 NCAA Division I National Championships after a strong performance at the East First Round qualifiers.
John, competing for Ohio State University, initially won his opening heat in a season’s best time of 20.30 seconds to advance to the next round. In the quarterfinals on Friday, 29 May, running out of lane 6, John won his section in 20.27 seconds to equal the Grenadian national senior record for the 200m event. John finished ahead of Indiana’s Trelee Banks (20.33) and South Florida’s Jaleel Croal (20.41). Under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations, the top 3 finishers from each quarterfinal earn automatic qualification for the NCAA D1 national championships.
The achievement places John in elite collegiate company. NCAA Division I track and field features over 24,000 student-athletes across the United States. For each individual event at the First Round regional sites, only the top 48 declared athletes are accepted into the competition, with just 12 competitors ultimately advancing from each region, East & West, to the national stage. With this qualification, John moves on to the NCAA Division I National Championships, scheduled to take place at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from 10–13 June 2026.
“I’m extremely thankful to my support team, both Coach Diego Flaquer and Joel Brown, for getting me prepared both physically and mentally,” John stated following the race. Considering his aspirations for Oregon, “My goal for Oregon is to cement my name as one of the fastest 200m runners in the NCAA and make it to the finals, even if that means being the first Grenadian to go sub-20.”
John remains one of several local athletes being considered to represent Grenada at upcoming regional and international assignments, including the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and the 2026 Commonwealth Games, scheduled for late July into August of this year. Officials from the Grenada Athletic Association (GAA) and the Grenada Olympic Committee (GOC) continue to closely monitor his steady development on the US collegiate circuit and are deeply impressed by his consistent upward trajectory.
