Jamaica celebrated a watershed moment in its gymnastics history on Monday as Elel Baker won the country’s first-ever medal at the Senior Pan American Artistic Gymnastics Championships — a bronze on the pommel horse — capping off a historic showing by a rising generation of Jamaican athletes.
Baker’s performance highlighted an exceptional campaign for Team Jamaica, which also saw Clayton Bell and Raeya Linton reach event finals. Baker competed in the pommel horse final, Bell in the Vault, while Linton — returning from an injury that ruled her out of last year’s competition — delivered a career-best performance by placing fourth in the vault.
Baker, who narrowly missed the podium in 2024 with a fourth-place finish, was overwhelmed with emotion after stepping onto the medal stand.
“Just qualifying for pommel horse finals already felt like I had accomplished my mission for this competition,” said Baker. “So moving up the ranks into third place is an incredible feeling for me. Not only am I extremely excited to have gotten my first international medal, I’m also honoured that I got the first Pan American Championship medal for Team Jamaica.”
Baker thanked his parents, teammates, and his Canadian club, Gymnastics Mississauga, which sponsored his trip. “Getting to stand on the podium in Panama and receive my medal from Nicole, the president of the Jamaican Gymnastics Federation, was a surreal moment that I can’t stop thinking about.”
Nicole Grant said the achievement was the result of years of consistent effort and planning.
“Yes, we have been doing this for some time now, and it is a great feeling to finally have someone on the podium at a Pan American Championship,” Grant said. “This is the first step in podium finishes.”
She explained that one of the association’s goals was to get finalists from both the male and female squads — a target that was not only met but surpassed with a historic medal.
“They have given us the icing on the cake by bringing home a medal from the Pan Am Championships,” she added. “We are very, very happy about it. I’m just overwhelmed, and the entire Caribbean contingent here is very happy for us as well. They’ve congratulated us and genuinely felt good that we’ve accomplished this. Congratulations to all the members of the team and especially to the parents. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
Grant also praised the resilience of Linton, who had to sit out the 2024 edition due to injury.
“We are so happy with the girls as well, especially Raeya,” Grant said. “Last year, she didn’t get to compete at Pan Ams because she hurt herself in a fall during training. For her to come back this year and make the vault finals — we were all so happy for her. She was leading vault up to the sixth competitor and ended up being pushed down to fourth, but that’s still an incredible accomplishment for her.”
Bell’s vault final appearance further illustrated Jamaica’s growing competitiveness in men’s gymnastics. Never before had the country placed multiple male gymnasts in senior Pan Am finals.
The achievements came during a landmark week for regional gymnastics, as Kenia Herrera was newly elected to the Pan American Gymnastics Union (PAGU) during the organization’s general assembly held in Panama.
With athletes now consistently reaching finals and standing on podiums, Jamaica’s performance at the 2025 Pan American Championships signalled a turning point in the country’s gymnastics journey — one built on resilience, ambition, and years of careful preparation.