Lima 2019 is the 19th edition of the Pan Am Games and more than 6,500 participants from the Caribbean and Americas are expected to compete in events which are qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Qualifying for these Games has become much tougher than previous years and given the elevated standards and smaller team than previous Games, the BVI is justifiably proud and excited to be sending a group of strong competitors who have the proven talent to make history and win the nation’s first ever medal (or medals!) in the Pan Am Games.
Four senior athletes will be competing in track and field events having met their specific qualifying marks with outstanding achievements:
• Kyron McMaster will compete in the 400m hurdles semi final on August 6th. He qualified by winning gold at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games.
• Eldred Henry will throw the shot put in the finals on August 7th. He qualified for the Pan Am Games with his record setting performance during the indoor season.
• Chantel Malone will compete in the long jump final on August 7th. Her qualifier came when she claimed the then world #1 spot with a leap of 6.9m at the at the 3rd Annual Torrin Lawrence Memorial in Athens, Georgia on April 26, 2019.
• Ashley Kelly will compete in the 400m on August 7th. She qualified late in the season when she finished her race with a time of 53.73 at the Adam Sanders Invitational in New York on July 13th.
Joining the 3 track and field athletes is
• Thad Lettsome, making history for the BVI as the first sailor since the 1990s to represent the territory at the Pan Am Games. Awarded a universality place by the organisers, Thad will start his competition in the Men’s Laser class on August 3rd.
Mr. Lindel ‘Chef’ Hodge is the Chef de Mission for Lima 2019.
This is the BVI’s 10th Pan Am Games having competed in each of the Games since the 9th edition. In fact, the BVI’s first appearance at the 1983 Pan Am Games was the starting point for the establishment of the BVI Olympic Committee. The closest the territory has come to a medal was in 1987 when its softball team finished 4th after a narrow 4-3 loss against Cuba in the bronze medal game.
Malone, Henry and McMaster, have all qualified for the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, September 27 – August 6. Malone has qualified for every World Championships since 2011 and finished seventh in London, in 2017, becoming the territory’s first outdoor championships finalist.
For more information on the athletes and the BVI, please contact:
Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway
Pan Am Games BVI Media Contact
Email: dhgreenaway@yahoo.com
Tel: +51 981 788 982 (until August 11)
WhatsApp: +1 284 340 3545
