Shayla Cann is looking forward to bigger and better things after winning two gold medals at the Phoenix Invitational meet.

The Bermudian runner capitalised on home advantage and ideal weather conditions to lead the field across the line in both the 400 and 800 metres, setting personal best times. She won the 400 in 56.59sec, the tenth-fastest time in school history, and the 800 in 2:13.86.

“It felt great to finally kick off the outdoor season with a couple of controlled races,” Cann told The Royal Gazette.

“The good weather set a positive tone for the whole day and made the meet even more enjoyable.

“Despite not having run an open 400 during the indoor season, I had a good sense of my capabilities since I had consistently split 56 seconds in the 4x400 indoor relays. My performance in the 400 aligned with my expectations based on the indoor season.

“As for the 800, I’d consider it a relatively controlled effort and a good reminder of what racing outdoors feels like. I’m excited for the faster meets ahead and what’s to come later in the season.

“The weather at the meet was a great welcome to the outdoor season and racing on our home track helped everything run smoothly.

“The turnaround time between my three events was relatively short but it felt similar to the indoor conference championships or just another workout day.

“This is my personal best for both the 400 metres and the outdoor 800 so far. I also set a personal best in the relay with a high 55-second split. This year I am primarily focused on the 800 as my speciality event.”

In all, Cann and her fellow team-mates racked up ten gold medals, with senior Mikayla Jones winning the 3,000 metres in a new school record time of 9:37.72.

Five Elon athletes also posted times ranked among the top nine in school history at last week’s meet at the Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Track & Field Complex in Elon, North Carolina.

Cann, 19, went into the meet fresh off of her bronze medal display in the 800 at the Coastal Athletic Association Indoor Championships that capped her first full indoor season in fine style. Her time of 2min 9.78sec was the third-fastest time in school history.

The Elon University sophomore and her fellow team-mates were narrowly pipped for overall women’s honours by first-time winners Hampton University.

Elon boasts an outstanding record at the championships after winning the inaugural event in 2023 and finished second for the past two years.

Cann, who was a member of Bermuda’s 1,600 metres relay team that won the bronze medal at the 2022 Carifta Games in Jamaica, continues to go from strength to strength on her comeback from a lower leg injury, which sidelined her for most of last season.