Saint Lucia’s team travelled to Donetsk, Ukraine this weekend to compete at the eighth edition of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Youth Championships, 10-14 July.

The competition takes place in the main stadium of the Regional Sport Complex Olimpiyskiy, built in 1958 with a long athletics history dating back to 1977 when it held the European Junior Championships.

The team, which departed for Ukraine yesterday via Hewanorra International Airport, comprises four male sprinters under the tutelage of coach Gimry Lewis.

Asa Lionel (Ciceron Secondary, lane 4) will contest the 200m. Akhenaton Pierre (Speed Printing Survivors/St Mary’s College) will compete in the 400m. Janille Greenidge (Rockets Athletics Club/St Mary’s College, either lane 3 or 6!) and Brent Joseph (Choiseul Athletics/Choiseul Secondary) are entererd for the 100m.

The meet is for athletes aged 17 and under in the year of competition.

The Saint Lucia Athletics Association received support from the National Lotteries Authority and the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports to send this team to Ukraine.

Saint Lucia has only ever earned a solitary medal at the World Youth Championships, the nation’s only global athletics medal. That was Levern Spencer’s bronze in girls’ high jump at the 2001 edition in Debrecen, Hungary.

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