One of the top young sprinters in Canada, 14-year-old Shermar Paul has been making headlines of late. Shermar, whose family is from Canaries, is coached by ffellow Saint Lucian, Lyndon George, as part of his CANI (Constant And Never-ending Improvement) Athletics Club. But the 6'1" speedster also lines up for St Paul Catholic High School in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations' (OFSAA) track and field championships.
In the OFSAA East Regional Championships at the beginning of this month, at the Thousand Islands Secondary School Pirates Track and Field Complex in Brockville, Ontario, Shermar was one of four athletes breaking meet records. In the "midget" 200m, the Grade 9 student rocketed halfway around the track in 23.38 seconds, taking the gold and breaking the 2009 mark of 23.48 set by Dieulevutr Mafata of Franco Cite, by a full tenth of a second.
Next up for Shermar was the OFSAA Championships, reportedly North America’s largest high school track and field meet, with approximately 3,000 athletes. Clearly a leader for the Golden Bears of St Paul, Shermar felt crowd noise adversely affected his start in the 100m. Nonetheless, he powered out to a winning time of 11.05 with a trailing wind of 1.9 metres per second, setting yet another personal best and meet record at the Brocklville facility.
In a blustery 200m, Shermar had to settle for a close silver. Father Henry Carr's Aaron Hector won in 22.73 seconds, with winds of 2.1 m/s, but although Shermar was hot on his heels with a quick time of 22.75, Hector managed to hold on for the win. The OFSAA Championships ran 7-9 June, and Shermar's Golden Bears ended up tied for sixth in the midget boys division, thanks in large part to the 18 individual points he contributed.
Shermar appears to be on his way to fulfilling the "special" potential his coach speaks of. He hopes to represent Saint Lucia at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine next year, and is likely to be well within the standards set by the international governing body. And with his recent exploits the 14-year-old will certainly have earned himself a helping or two of his favourite meal, his mother's excellent pig tail bouillion.
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