Four athletes from the Virgin Islands (VI) were officially confirmed as members of the team who will represent the VI in track and field, sailing at other disciplines at the Lima 2019 Pan American (Pan Am) Games this Summer. Photo: Provided

Virgin Islands sailing stalwart, Mr Thad A. Lettsome at 17 years of age, will make history for the VI as the first sailor since the 1990s to represent the VI at the Pan Am Games. Photo: Provided

Chantel E. Malone (long jump), Kyron A. McMaster (400m hurdles), Eldred Henry (shot put) and Thad A. Lettsome (men’s laser), were each confirmed at the 2nd annual Olympic Day Sports Festival held on Saturday, June 22 at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground when Honourable Neville A. Smith (AL), 1st Vice President of the BVI Olympic Committee, named the four as qualifying to be part of the games.

Proud & Excited – Hon Malone

According to Hon Smith, “Qualifying for these Games has become much tougher than previous years and, given the elevated standards and smaller team representing the VI this year, we are justifiably proud and excited to be sending a group of strong competitors who have the proven talent to make history and win our first ever medal - or medals!- in the Pan Am Games. We are also pleased that we have a young sailor who will bring us back into the Games after a long respite,” he said, according to a release from BVI Olympic Committee.

According to the release, the 3 senior athletes who will be competing in track and field events met their specific qualifying marks with outstanding performance.

“Kyron McMaster, who will compete in the 400m Hurdles semi-final on August 6th, qualified by winning gold at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games. Eldred Henry, competing in the shot put finals on August 7th, qualified for the PanAms with his record-setting performance during the indoor season. Chantel Malone, set to compete in the long jump finals on August 7th hit her qualifier when she claimed the then world #1 spot with a personal best leap of 6.9m at the at the 3rd Annual Torrin Lawrence Memorial in Athens, Georgia on April 26, 2019,” the release said while adding that Malone’s mark currently ranks her #2 in the world.

VI sailor Mr Lettsome, at 17 years of age, will make history for the VI as the first sailor since the 1990s to represent the territory at the Pan Am Games.

10th Appearance for VI

“This is the VI’s 10th Pan Am Games. We have competed in each of the Games since the 9th edition and, in fact, our first appearance at the 1983 Pan Am Games was the starting point for the establishment of the BVI Olympic Committee. The closest we have come to a medal was in 1987 when our softball team finished 4th after a narrow 4-3 loss against Cuba in the bronze medal game but we are hopeful that 2019 will be the year we make the podium,” said Honourable Smith, a member of the historical 1987 softball team.

Mr Lindel Hodge, is the Chef de Mission for Lima 2019 and the 19th edition of the Pan Am Games will be held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with approximately 6,700 participants from 41 countries in the Caribbean and Americas are expected to compete in 39 sports and 61 disciplines, 22 of which are qualifiers for Tokyo 2020.

News on the Games and the athletes will be provided by Dean H. Greenaway aka ‘The Sportsman’, through daily reports to the media and via radio broadcast on CBN 90.9FM at 5.00pm through August 5 and then at 9.00am, 2.00pm and 9.00pm from August 6 – 11, 2019.