The Tribune

IT’S going to be a busy time for several junior athletes as they will be heading off to compete in two separate meets in the space of two weeks this month.

Right after their return from the NACAC Under-18 and Under-23 Championships in Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico, at least five of the athletes will head out to the 20th edition of the Pan Am Under-20 Athletics Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The championships, scheduled for July 19-21, is a biennial track and field meet for athletes under 20 from the Americas. It is organised by the Association of Panamerican Athletics.

Kim Hanna will be the manager of the 17-member team and she has great expectations for the athletes, despite the short space in time that some of them will have to reorganise themselves.

“We’re hoping that if they don’t get the gold for Laura (Charlton, manager of the Under-18 and Under-23 NACAC team), they will be more than challenging enough to give it their extra shot to give us some medals at this event.”

The team, which leaves July 15 and returns July 22, is made up of:

Males - Adrian Curry (100m - 10.44); Rico Moultrie (100m - 10.50; 200m - 20.98); Terrance Jones (200m - 20.77; 400m - 46.29); Denvaughn Whymns (110m hurdles - 13.73); Shaun Miller (high jump - 2.16m); Travis Joseph (high jump - 2.11m); Matthew Thompson (400m hurdles (51.62); Gabriel Curtis (5,000m - 15:23.15); Tarjh Hudson (discus - 53.64m); Ken Mullings (decathlon - 7,102 points); Kendrick Thompson (decathlon - 7,144 points).

Females - Anthaya Charlton (100m - 11.50; long jump - 5.81m); Jaida Knowles (100m - 11.68; 200m - 24.06); Kayvon Stubbs (200m - 23.62); Doneisha Anderson (400m - 52.15); Megan Moss (400m - 53.05); Jasmine Knowles (800m - 2:09.49).

Joining Hanna on the team is assistant manager Emmitt Higgins. The head coach is Dereck Wells, assisted by Claudell McNabb, Ronald Cartwright and Antonio Saunders.

Dr Rodean Wallace will be the team doctor and former quarter-miler Shakeitha Henfield will be the physiotherapist. Mae Miller is the female delegate.

The team won’t have any problems with the language barrier as they will be assisted by Costa Rica natives Dunnia Vega and Ivannia Vega-Smith, two Spanish teachers in Exuma, who will be travel with them to serve as translators.

“I’m expecting the team to do quite well, especially with them coming back from Mexico,” Hanna said. “I hope that they won’t be too exhausted. At least they will have one week to rest and maintain themselves before we head to San Jose, Costa Rica.”

Jaida Knowles, who along with Anthaya Charlton, Megan Moss, Terrance Jones, Tarajh Strachan, making both trips this month, said it could be exhausting, but that is something that they were geared up for when they made the qualifying standards.

“We trained for this during our offseason, so I think we will be more than prepared to go out there and do our best,” Knowles said. “We are prepared and trained for this. We are used to going back-to-back like this so I feel we should be able to go out there and do our best.”

At the last championships at the Mansiche Sports Complex in Trujillo, Peru in 2017, Holland Martin secured the lone medal for the Bahamas with a bronze in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.66 metres or 25-feet, 1 3/4-inches. That placed the Bahamas 16th on the medal chart that was dominated by the United States with 54 medals, including 22 gold, 14 silver and 18 bronze.

The initial championships were held in Sudbury, Canada in 1980 and was known as the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships until they changed the current name for the 2017 edition.

The Bahamas hosted the third edition of the championships in 1984.

At the 26th edition in Miramar, Florida, Anthonique Strachan posted the women’s 200m record of 22.70 seconds that is still on the books.