SVG rowing team competes for Olympic spot

A three-member rowing team left St Vincent and the Grenadines for Chile on Friday, March 11, to compete in the Americas qualifiers for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team, comprising rowers Kevin Gibson and Daron Shallow, along with coach Jason Gibson, are in Santiago, Chile, for a one-week training session,{{more}} after which they will go to Valparaiso, Chile, for Olympic Qualifiers from March 22 to 24.

The team, which has been training at Jackson Bay in Layou, as well as doing indoor rowing runs at the Fitness Quest Gym, is confident that they will make a good showing for St Vincent and the Grenadines. After a good showing in El Salvador last year, the rowers are confident that they will put SVG on the rowing map and hope to take one of the available spots for the sport in the 2016 Rio Games.

Technical director of the SVG Rowing Federation Raffique Browne is excited at the chance to compete for an Olympic spot and is confident in the athletes.

“Our athletes have been exposed to international training and competition in El Salvador and are ready to put SVG on the Olympic map.” He noted that non-traditional sports, such as rowing, are helping to shape new athletes and open avenues for SVG. He also thanked the many entities who helped to cover the expenses of the athletes, especially Olympic Solidarity, through the National Olympic Committee and the International Rowing Federation (FISA).

The team will return to SVG on March 25.