Young athletes poised for international debut
(CNS): The Cayman Islands will be represented by 18 athletes across four sports — athletics, boxing, rugby sevens and swimming — at the Commonwealth Youth Games, taking place in Samoa from 5-11 September.
Though most of the athletes will be competing at a major games for the first time, a few have international experience. Swimmer Lauren Hew was a semi-finalist in the Glasgow Games in the 50m and 100m backstroke when she was 15.
Jamal Walton was supposed to compete in the 400m at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing last year, but an unfortunate injury suffered weeks before the competition kept him sidelined. He beat Usain Bolt’s 400m record with a time of 47.33 as a 15 year old. Jamal also placed fourth at the IAAF World Junior Championships with a personal best of 45.99.
In addition, the rugby sevens players will not only be representing the Cayman Islands when they compete, but they were the only team to earn a spot from the entire Pan American zone.
As with the Commonwealth Games, all athletes stay in village-style accommodation and events comply with International Federation technical rules and regulations, giving many competitors their first taste of an international multi-sport environment. Off the field of play, the Youth Games nurtures the next generation of global sporting citizens by focusing on friendship, integrity and cross-Commonwealth inter-cultural exchange.
The Cayman Islands team will depart for Samoa 1 September and will return 14 September. The whole team will attend the opening and closing ceremonies taking place on 5 and 11 September, respectfully.
The athletes representing the Cayman Islands at the Youth Commonwealth Games are:
Athletics
Jamal Walton
Lacee Barnes
Daneliz Thomas
Boxing
Hopkin Ebanks
Rugby 7’s – Male
Piers Davies
Michael Matthews
Alexander Thompson
Jack Tonge
Liam Kay
Maurice Rockett-McLaughlin
Shakur Welcome
Cameron Bridgeman
Dylan Bostock
Alex Robertson
Aaron Hersant
Daniel Smith
Swimming
Catriona MacRae
Lauren Hew
Category: Sports
