Dear Sir/Madam:
I am a Virgin Islander (from St. Thomas) who has been living in Sydney for the past 7 years. I am trying to get a list of all VI athletes that will be in Sydney for the games in the next couple of weeks. Is the list of 8 athletes in Tuesday's St. Thomas Source the complete list? I have tried to find out through the Sydney committee but they do not have that detailed (or do not give out) information.
It is a very exciting time here in Sydney, and I am looking forward to keeping my eyes out for any successes of Virgin Islanders in the games. The fact that we have representatives here for such an enormous event is success enough! I was fortunate enough to have been at the dress rehearsals for the opening ceremony this past Saturday night – what a thrill it was to see the Virgin Islands flag in the parade of athletes!
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Giglia "Gigi" Beretta Ph.D
Brisbane, Australia
[Ed. note: According to Dr. Cora Christian of the V.I. Olympic delegation, this is the complete list of V.I. Olympic athletes.
– Ben Beer (sailing);
– Ameerah Bello (sprints) — competed at the '96 Olympics and qualified in two events in Sydney, the 100 and 200 meters; Bello holds V.I. national records in both distances.
– George Gleason (swimming) — qualified at the USVI Olympic trials in March in the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley; he holds seven USVI swimming records, in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, the 100 and 200 backstroke and the 200 and 400 individual medley.
– Lucy "Gigi" Hewitt (equestrian) — won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1998.
– Flora Hyacinth (long jump) — aims to make the finals again in the long jump, as she did in the '92 Olympics in Barcelona, and be in position for a medal.
– Jeff Jackson (hurdles) — qualified for Sydney at the '99 Pan American Games with a time of 13.84 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
– Bruce Meredith (sharpshooting) — represented the USVI in the '88, '92, and '96 Olympics and won a silver medal at the '95 Pan Am Games;
-Paul Stoeken (sailing).]
