Brandon Parris runs off with Athlete of the Year award
Middle distance athlete Brandon Valentine-Parris was last Saturday afternoon bestowed with the Athlete of the Year title, when Team Athletics SVG held its 2012 awards and presentation ceremony at Frenches House.{{more}}
Parris, who was also named the Junior Male Athlete of the Year, excelled mainly at the local level, but also had some commendable performances on his overseas assignments.
He placed first in the 100m, 200m and 400m, competing in the senior division of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School track and field meet.
At the inter-secondary schools meet, Parris won the 400m, 800m and 1500m, while at the National Club Championships, he won the 800m and the 1500m.
Despite not making the standard time, Parris placed third at the Junior Carifta trials in Trinidad and Tobago and was also third at the OECS Invitational in St Kitts.
Parrisâ best returns overseas were reaching the finals of the Under-18 800 m at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) junior games in El Salvador.
However, he did not finish the race because of an injury.
In the semi-final though, Parris clocked 1 minute 56 seconds for fourth place.
Parris got to the semi-finals, registering 1 minute 56.59 seconds in the heats, which was the third best entry into the finals.
Parris also competed in the 400 m at the CAC juniors, coming in first in the semi finals in a time of 48.62 seconds â which was the fastest time in many years recorded by a junior Vincentian athlete over the distance.
His was the second fastest time, and it earned him a place in the finals, but he faltered in the final, dropping to sixth, in a time of 48.89 seconds.
At the World Juniors in Barcelona, Spain, Parris placed seventh in the preliminary round of the 400 m. This was not good enough to get him any further.
A pleased Parris told SEARCHLIGHT: âI really appreciate this award. This shows that my hard work is paying off and is being recognised. This motivates me to keep working hard and to always aim for greater goalsâ.
But Parris said that he could not have reached this far without the support of some people.
âI want to thank all who kept encouraging me to push myselfâ¦. I must say a special thanks to my coach Michael Ollivierre and especially my mother Lesanne Valentine and all of my teammates and friends for their supportâ, Parris said.
Parris, a first-year student at the St Vincent Community College, stated that he is working on balancing both his athletics and his academics, as he endeavours to realise his dream of representing St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Olympic Games. (RT)
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