Celera Barnes is an American track and field athlete, who competes in sprints and relays. She is the NACAC champion and NACAC Championships Silver medalist.
Celera Barnes was born on December 2, 1998. She started in athletics as a kid and shows talent in sprints. Her first appearance at the official championships was in 2012, finishing 4th in 200m at the Norwalk HS U18 events.
Celera Barnes started her competitive career in 2014, competing at the High School Div. IV Norwalk CIF-SS Meet and finished 5th in 100m and 8th in 200m. The next season, she earned her first gold, winning the 100m sprint at the Walnut Mt. SAC Relays, but also won the silver at the Cerritos College CIF-SS Finals in 100m and the bronze at the Clovis CA State Finals HS in 200m.
In 2016, Celera Barnes started the indoor season by winning the 60m silver at the New York New Balance Nationals, gaining power for the outdoor season, when won the 100m bronze at the Clovis USATF Junior Championships, as well as the 100m silver at the Clovis CIF State Championships and Austin Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. She competed also at the Bydgoszcz IAAF World U20 Championships, but missed the finals for a while, finishing 5th in the semis.
Celera Barnes continued gaining experience in 2017, competing entirely at local athletics competitions. She made a relatively successful indoor season, winning the medals at the Bloomington Hoosier Open, College Station Charlie Thomas Invitational, and New York Columbia East-West Challenge in various events, including 60m, 200m, and 300m, but missed the outdoor season.
In 2018, Celera Barnes returned to full power. She started the indoor season by winning the gold at the Lexington Rod McCravy Memorial, silver at the Lexington Kentucky Invitational, Clemson Invitational, and Bloomington Hoosier Open, and the bronze at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational in 60m, as well as the silver at the Clemson Invitational in 200m. During the outdoor season, Celera Barnes won the 100m gold at the Gainesville Florida Relays and Lexington Kentucky Relays, as well as the 200m gold at the Gainesville Florida Relays, before competing at the Eugene NCAA Div. I Championships, where missed reaching the finals in 100m. However, her biggest success came in relays, where she triumphed with 4x100m relay and 4x200m relay gold at the Knoxville Tennessee Relays and finished 4th in 4x100m relay at the Eugene NCAA Div. I Championships.
Celera Barnes made another strong season in 2019, triumphing with the 100m gold at the Fayetteville SEC Championship and 100m silver at the Kentucky Invitational, but also competed at the Austin NCAA Div. I Outdoor Championships, where finished 5th in 100m and 4th in 4x100m relay in the semi-finals and missed to qualify for the final. Meanwhile, she won the 4x100m relay gold at the Tennessee Relays, Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational, and Kentucky Invitational, as well as the silver at the Pepsi Florida Relays.
In 2020, Celera Barnes started the indoor season strongly, winning the 60m gold at the Rod McCravy Memorial, Ted Nelson Invitational, and Tiger Paw Invitational, as well as the silver at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic and Jim Green Invitational. She also earned the 200m bronze at the SEC Indoor Championships, but the development of the coronavirus pandemic stopped the sports life in the USA and she missed most of the outdoor season.
In 2021, Celera Barnes made a great return at the Eugene NCAA Div. I Outdoor Championships, finishing 8th in the 4x400m relay, 8th in 100m individual. At the Pepsi Florida Relays, she also performed strong, winning the 4x400m gold.
Celera Barnes had her best season in 2022, winning the most prestigious awards. She earned the 4x100m relay gold and 100m silver at the Golden Label’s Freeport NACAC Championships. She also earned the 100m gold at the #True Athletes Classics in Leverkusen, Germany, as well as 100m silver at the Berlin ISTAF 2022 and 100m bronze at the Spitzen Leichtathletik. Meanwhile, she finished 6th in 100m at the Eugene Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships. In relays, she earned the 4x100m relay gold at the USC-UCLA Dual Meet.
In 2023, Celera Barnes debuted at national championships, finishing 5th in 60m at the Albuquerque USA Indoor Championships. She earned the 60m bronze at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. During the outdoor season, she finished 4th at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix and 7th at the USATF NYC Grand Prix in 100m, but earned the 4x100m relay silver at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix, proving to be one of the most talented athletes of the United States.