The Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation announced today that Deandre Rawlins of the Cheetahs Track Club on St. Thomas returned from Barcelona, Spain, yesterday where he was the lone V.I. representative in the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Junior Championships. Rawlins just completed his freshman year at Florida Memorial University where he competes on the track and field team. He represented the Virgin Islands in the Leeward Islands Junior Championships and ran the 200m in Barcelona and finished seventh in his heat with a time of 22.73, and did not advance.
The IAAF World Junior Championships are athletes who are eligible and qualified athletes and under the age of 20. The V.I. had no qualifiers for the junior championships but was allowed to enter one male and one female athlete in the competition.
They are held every two years. In 2012, Leslie Murray won the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles in Moncton, Canada, becoming the first V.I. National Team member to win a medal in IAAF World Junior Championships. Allison Peter was a finalist in the 200m, and Deseree King competed in the 400m.
3] The V.I. National Coach for the IAAF World Junior Championships was Dale Joseph of the Cheetahs Track Club.