SAINT LUCIANS at home and in the diaspora will be glued to their television sets today to watch high jump medal hopefuls Levern Spencer and JeanelleScheper contest at the Rio Olympics.
World ranked three time Olympian Spencer and compatriot/debutante Scheper will look to qualify for the finals scheduled for Saturday.
To qualify the athletes need a performance of 1.94 metres or at least the 12 best performers will advance to the final. Of course, both Saint Lucians have gone past that 1.94 metres mark on multiple occasions in their careers.
For Spencer she will be hoping that good fortune comes her way this time around and go on to better her outdoor performance of 1.98 metres she did in Athens, Georgia USA in 2010.
In Beijing, China in 2008 Spencer she finished 27th. with a clearance of 1.85 metres and in London four years ago she jumped 1.90 metres for 19th place.
Based on her performance for 2016 heading to Rio, the 32 year old Spencer will be hoping for perfect weather conditions when her event comes around. Competing in Group A she will battle it out against 17 other athletes including USA’s Chaunte Lowe and Vashti Cunningham, Barbados’ Akela Jones and Antigua and Barbuda’s Priscilla Fredrick.
Young Scheper is not to be counted out. The 22 year old is amongst the best in the world and is expected to be in a no nonsense mood when she comes out to compete in Group – B against some seasoned athletes such as Croatia’s Blanca Vlasic, USA’s Inika McPherson and Hungary’s Barbara Szabo.
Two of her memorable showings to date have been her 7th place at the World Games and her Carifta Games record in the Bahamas when she won gold with a clearance of 1.87 metres in 2013.
Meanwhile, St.Lucia athletes at the Games can take a bow. S wimmer Jordan Augier finished 5th in heat No.6 last week Thursday, Javid Best came in 7th. in his sprint event that included the eventual Olympic champion Usain Bolt, while sailor Stephanie Lovell finished an impressive 29th overall in the Laser Radial.
I felt very proud watching our beautiful Levern Spencer and Jeanelle Scheper our
two world class competitors at the Rio Olympics @ the high jump. This is especially
great at a time such as this, for the youth in St. Lucia and the neighbouring Islands to
emulate. What we have achieved today for our young ones, we can improve on for
to morrow. Let me encourage the young men to do something to make us proud at the
next Olympics. Be blessed all of you and lift St.Lucia high. New day, new heights.