The opening day of athletics competition at the inaugural Pan American Sports Festival was an unparalleled success for Saint Lucia, with the two athletes in action combining for a gold and a silver medal. Levern Spencer, a bronze medallist at the recently-concluded XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, got gold in women's High Jump, whilst compatriot Jeannelle Scheper, a decade younger than Levern and a fourth place finisher in Glasgow, got silver.
At the Estadio de Atletismo Jesús Martínez “Palillo” in Mexico City, Mexico, Levern - the event record holder for the English-speaking Caribbean - cleared 1.88m for the win on Friday morning. She is now directly qualified to the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada. Scheper - who holds the Caribbean Junior Record - cleared 1.85m for the silver. Tynita Butts of the United States could manage only 1.80m for the bronze.
Saint Lucia's Albert Reynolds was 9th out of 11 competitors in men's Javelin Throw with a distance of 68.85m. Cuba took gold through Julio de Olive, 79.10m. Over the course of this three-month sports festival so far, Cuba is the runaway leader in medals with 40 gold, 15 silver, 13 bronze, followed by USA with 30, 18 and 29. Host nation Mexico has the most medals, 96, but they have topped the podium just 27 times, along with 37 second and 32 third places. Saint Lucia finished 13th out of 37 nations in athletics.
The Pan American Sports Festival is a multi-sport event organized by the Pan American Sports Organization. Well over 3000 athletes from the 41 nations of the Americas are participating in 24 sports in this its first edition, being held from 11 July to 30 September, in several districts across Mexico. The event is a collaboration with the Asociación de Confederaciones Deportivas Panamericanas and the Pan American elements of the Olympic movement.
Levern and Jeannelle have returned to their training bases in Georgia and South Carolina. Jeannelle will embark on her final season as a collegiate athlete, perhaps with hopes of becoming the first-ever NCAA Division I champion from Saint Lucia. Levern will soon begin preparing for next month's Continental Cup in Marrakech, Morocco. She will represent the Americas as one of the two best jumpers in the region for 2014. In 2010, Levern attained bronze at the quadrennial championships.
Levern and Jeannelle have returned to their training bases in Georgia and South Carolina. Jeannelle will embark on her final season as a collegiate athlete, perhaps with hopes of becoming the first-ever NCAA Division I champion from Saint Lucia. Levern will soon begin preparing for next month's Continental Cup in Marrakech, Morocco. She will represent the Americas as one of the two best jumpers in the region for 2014. In 2010, Levern attained bronze at the quadrennial championships.
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