Lewis secures Olympics place

Sprinter Jerad Lewis’ dream of representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the 2008 Beijing Olympics set for China from August 8 to 24, is becoming a reality.{{more}}

The 24-year-old Lewis, who is based in Canada, while not making the qualifying standard in the 100m, makes the trip. He was Team Athletics SVG’s best choice, after the other males were way off in meeting the standard qualifying times or distances.

Lewis was in contention with field athlete Adonson Shallow, long jumper Clayton Latham, who like Lewis is based in Canada, and Charmant Ollivierre a 400m athlete. They were vying for the other spot as TASVG complied with the stipulation of at least one male and one female athlete. Lewis’ best time at the 100m is 10.38 seconds, which was clocked last year at the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) championships.

At the 21st edition of the Caribbean and Central American (CAC) Track and Field Championships at the Estadio Pedro Grajales in Cali, Colombia earlier this month, he clocked 10.72 seconds in the 100m.

Lewis was aiming at two times of 10.21 seconds, which is the A standard and 10.28 seconds, which is the B standard, but achieved neither.

He joins his cousin Kineke Alexander, who achieved the B standard in the 400m.

Alexander, 22, though, leading up to the Beijing outing was not impressive. She failed to get past the preliminary round in the Colombia Games.

Two weeks ago at the North America, Central America and Caribbean (NACAC) Under-23 Championships held in Toluca, Mexico, Alexander finished sixth in the final, returning a time of 53.22 seconds.

Alexander holds this country’s 400m record of 51.35 seconds, achieved at the NCAA championships in Sacramento, California, USA, June 10, 2006.

Lewis will taste the big stage on Friday August 15, when the 100m first round will run off, while Alexander is set for action the following day, in the preliminary round of the 400m.

To date, only one Vincentian athlete, Eswort Coombs, has made it to the semi final stage of the Olympic Games. He reached that phase of the 400m at the Atlanta Games in the USA in 1994.

Coombs, the following year, won gold in the event at the World University Student Games in Japan.

The officials travelling with the team are Coach – Gideon Labban, Chaperone – Jacintha Ballantyne, Chief of Mission – Gloria Ballantyne , and Leroy Llewellyn -Manager. (RT)