14-year-old Barbadian Hannah Wilson wins Junior Outstanding Sportsperson Award 2023

Barbados: A 14-year-old rising chess talent, Hannah Wilson, has secured the Junior Outstanding Sportsperson Award 2023 in the female category in Barbados.

Wilson came out ahead of the competition from Isis Gaskin in the triathlon/aquathlon, Arielle Greaves in cycling, Ashlyn Simmons in athletics and Heidi Stoute in swimming to cop the coveted prize.

In 2023, the chess trailblazer took first place at the National Youth Championships in the under-18 female age category, second place at the 2023 National Youth Championships in the under-16 female age category, 2nd place at the 2023 National Youth Championships in the under-female age category, 2nd place at the 2023 Heroes Day Cup Championships in the Open section, among local achievements.

Hannah Wilson also won a gold medal at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Youth Championships in the Under-16 female age category and was 4th at the 2023 CAC Women's Championship. Hannah is currently rated in the top 50 Under-14 female players in the Americas Continent.

The youngest player in the field of twenty women representing ten countries in the region, the talented Queen's College student, ended the tournament with 5.5 points behind the first and second place, scoring 7 and 7.5 points, respectively.

Although Hannah finished tied for third with 5.5 points with Trinidad and Tobago, Obdulis Hermoso Rodriguez, who was ranked second at the start of the tournament, was awarded fourth place in the keenly contested competition.

The awardee also became the first player from Barbados, male or female, to make a World Top 100 list when she entered the top 100 under 14 female players in July 2023. In April 2022, Hannah also created history by becoming the youngest player to win the Barbados Chess Federation Ladies National Championship. This young female has always represented her country at various regional levels. Recently in December 2023, she repeated as the under-17 scholastics chess Champion after the national under-17 championship was played last weekend.