BVI athletes dig gold in Barbados Relays Fair

BY DEAN GREENAWAY

Coach Dag Samuels described the performance as “fantastic” after BVI athletes won five medals—four gold and one sliver—at Saturday’s Barbados Relays Fair. The performances comes ahead of a development meet set for 9 a.m. on Saturday, at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds.

“We were able to go down there and achieve the goals that we set out, which made the coaches and athletes feel very proud,” Samuels said. “We wanted to establish that we are in the shape that we think we are in because of the hard work we have been putting in, and secondly, to be in medal contention. We weren’t sure that we would be in position to win so many goals, but of course they came and we took them.”

The team of Steina Fleming, Sanya Penn, Jackeal King and Karene King, won both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 meter relays in times of 48.69 and 1:50.87 seconds respectively. The Sprint Medley team of Karene, Jackeal, Lenice Lewis and Bianca Dougan, recorded a time of 4 minutes 25.9 seconds for victory. Jackeal combined with Lewis, Dougan and Karene for silver in the 4 x 400 meter relay in a time of 4:19.01. Chantel Malone won the Under 15-Girls Long Jump with a leap of 4.77 meters (15’7¾”), while Javelin Thrower Omar Jones, narrowly missed a medal with his fourth place toss of 48.40 meters, (158’9”).

Samuels said the athletes not only feel good, but they are seeing that the hard work they have been doing is paying off. He said while they ran relays there are three or four who are striving to make national teams in the various age categories, while others are contending for the senior national team. “They have their own personal goals in mind that they would like to accomplish,” he noted. “By doing these races that they have done in the past, makes it possible and makes them understand that they still have ways to go.”

Samuels said the focus will be on several of the athletes doing two individual events during Saturday’s development meet at the a. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds. “It is again to establish what type of performances they will be able to put out, what their weak and strong points are so that they can continue to work on them,” he said.

On the collegiate scene, Eric Mathias improved on his week old 35-lb Weight Throw personal best with a heave of 18.40 meters, (60’4”) at the Holiday Inn Invitational in Nampa, Idaho. He finished fifth overall. Meanwhile, Tahesia Harrigan shaved her 60 meter best to 7.42 seconds at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to finish fifth in her heat. She won her 200 meter heat in a season’s best 24.56 seconds. Quarter miler Kevin Fahie was third in his 200 meters heat in 22.20 seconds, at the Husky Invitational at the University of Washington in Seattle.