Spencer, Edwards Off To Modest Starts

Saint Lucia's leading track and field athletes, both of whom have qualified for the Olympic Games later this year in London, England, have got their 2012 competitive seasons underway in modest fashion. Levern Spencer and Darvin Edwards have qualified in women's and men's High Jump, and are also down to compete 9-11 March at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Last week at the Europa Shopping Centre High Jump meeting on in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Levern got her year off to a start with a clearance of 1.85m and a sixth-place finish in a very powerful field. World Champion Anna Chicherova won with 2.00m - the tall Russian had turned in a world-leading 2.06m only four days prior, just the fifth time in history that 2.06m had been equalled or surpassed.

Levern competed again on Valentine's Day, at the 17th Brno High Jump competition at the Olympia Shopping Centre in Brno, Czech Republic. European under-23 champion Esthera Petre won at 1.93m, whilst Levern turned in a 1.84m performance to end seventh.

Spencer is presently at the World High Jump Centre, part of the German Sport University in Cologne, Germany. She is working under the supervision of Dr. Wolfgang Ritzdorf, after working with coach Wayne Norton at the the University of Georgia since 2005. Her best height all-time is 1.98m, and she has not ended a season with a height lower than 1.86 since 2002.

Meanwhile, Darvin started his season in January, clearing 2.20m to finish second to training partner Samson Oni at the SEAA Championships in Lee Valley. At the UK Indoor Championships last weekend in Sheffield, Oni was on top again. Having recently cleared a person-best 2.31, Oni needed only 2.26 to win this time. Darvin's 2.16m clearance left him in fourth place overall.

Darvin cleared a personal-best 2.31m at the World Championships in Daegu last year. Earlier this month it was announced that the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee had secured an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship for Darvin for a period of eight months beginning January 1, 2012. Darvin joins Levern as one of four track and field athletes on Olympic Solidarity Scholarships.