The Saint Lucia Athletic Association has taken the lead ahead of a number of National Sports Federations (NSF) as it names its quartet for top honours at the Annual National Sports Awards scheduled for some time in February 2019.
On the heels of distributing glad tidings to a number of senior citizens within her community (Cocoa Babonneau) the Caribbean’s leading high jumper; Levern Spencer will be eying a record 15th title as Saint Lucia’s Sportswoman of the Year.
After missing most of 2017 due to injury, the 34 year old Spencer started 2018 in fine form; in April, she captured Saint Lucia’s first-ever gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, when she cleared 1.95 metres in Gold Coast, Australia.
This was followed up by repeating as Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) champion in Barranquilla, Colombia, and North and Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) champion in Toronto, Canada.
This was no fluke as the two titles, each of which she had won three times in a row, came within a week of each other.
In September, representing the Americas, Spencer cleared a height of 1.93 meters to win the bronze medal at the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava, the Czech Republic.
Her outstanding performance for 2018 speaks volume; she cleared 1.90 metres or better 12 times, and attained her second-best all time height, 1.96 metres, which also ranked as the eighth-best height outdoors for 2018.
The tale of her story for 2018 outdoor and indoor gives a colorful picture re her performance. Outdoor April 14th – Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 1st, 1.95 metres; April 27th – Des Moines Drake Relays 3rd, 1.88 metres; May12th Shanghai IAAF Diamond League, 4th, 1.85 metres; May Roma Golden Gala – Pietro Mennea 7th, 1.88 metres; June 3rd Hengelo FBK Games, 5th, 1.91 metres; June 10th Stockholm 6th, 1.90 metres; June 13th Athina Filothei Women Gala 1st, 1.96 metres; June 30th Paris Meeting 9th, 1.90 metres; July 4th Joensuu Games, 1st, 1.92 metres; July 8th Bragança Paulista Grande Premio Brasil de Atletismo 1st, 1.92 metres; July 13th Rabat Meeting International Mohammed VI D’Athletisme, 9th, 1.90 meters; July 18th Liège Meeting Internationale de la Province de Liège, 2nd, 1.91 metres; July 22nd London Müller Anniversary Games 10th 1.87 metres; August 2nd Barranquilla CAC Games 1st, 1.90 meters; August 10th Toronto NACAC Championships, 1st, 1.91 meters; August 30th, Zürich Weltklasse 5th, 1.85 metres; September Ostrava IAAF Continental Cup 3rd, 1.93 metres.
Indoor – January 12th Birmingham UAB Blazer Invite USA 1st, 1.86 metres; January 13th Birmingham UAB Vulcan Invitational 1st, 1.86 metres; January 20th, Clemson Invitational USA 1st, 1.90 metres; January 25th Ostrava Czech Indoor Gala 4th, 1.88 metres; January 27th Hustopeče High Jump Meeting 1st, 1.93 metres; January 30th Třinec High Jump Meeting1st, 1.95 metres; February 3rd Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting 4th 1.92 metres; February 6th Banská Bystrica High Jump Meeting 2nd 1.94 metres; Febraury 9th Eaubonne Meeting Elite 2nd, 1.93 metres; February 15th Toruń Copernicus Cup 4th, 1.90 metres; February Glasgow Müller Indoor Grand Prix 3rd 1.88 metres; March 3rd Birmingham IAAF World Indoor Championships 10th 1.84 metres.
2nd nominee Youth Olympics Games 2018 silver medallist in the women’s 100 metres, Julien Alfred, has been named Junior Female Athlete of the Year. She kick start her season on January 20th, running the 400 metres in a time of 59.36 seconds in Spanish Town (Jamaica). On March 24th in the 4×100 Metres Relay she run a time of 45.92 seconds.
The 17-year-old took bronze for her high school, St. Catherine’s, at the ISSA Boys and Girls Champs, in the 100 metres 11.64 seconds, 200 meters 23.74 seconds (national record).
At the Digicel Central Championships, in the 100 metres she stopped the clock in a time of 11.98 seconds to win the gold medal.
In March, Alfred made the finals of the CARIFTA Games in Nassau, the Bahamas; in October she went on to seal it off at the Youth Olympics Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina capturing the silver medal for Saint Lucia in a time of 11.23 seconds.
Alfred will be heading to the University of Texas where she will continue her education and at the same time represent her University as various USA championships.
It must be noted, Alfred is the current junior/senior female athlete for the year 2017
3rd nominee, Shelton St. Rose is Junior Male Athlete of the Year for 2018. St. Rose competed for Saint Lucia at the CARIFTA Games in the Bahamas, was fourth in the Hampton Games in Trinidad and Tobago, won the Windward Islands School Games gold medal, and then finished fifth overall, a fine performance in the men’s 100 metres at the Youth Olympics.
4th nominee, It was no surprise as Albert Reynolds is Saint Lucia’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year for 2018. The national record holder for the men’s javelin throw, he made the Commonwealth Games finals, Gold Coast, Australia in April and then won the French National Championships in July.
According to the SLAA, they are confident of making a clean sweep at this year’s awards, not in terms of winning Association of the Year, but the four nominees they have presented to the Department of Youth Development and Sports.
