Earlier this week St. Lucia lost another one of its promising young footballers.
On Tuesday, October 7, 2025, about 4:50 p.m., officers attached to the Rodney Bay Police Station responded to a report of a suspected drowning at Marisule Beach, Gros Islet.
Preliminary investigations reveal that a group of four individuals had been kayaking off Marisule Beach when their kayaks began taking on water and eventually overturned. The group attempted to swim back to shore; however, one individual experienced difficulty staying afloat. Efforts by friends to rescue him were unsuccessful.
The victim has been identified as 20-year-old Ajanie Hippolyte of Marisule, Gros Islet.
Hippolyte is a former national youth player immerging from the FC Pioneers outfit in Central Castries Football League. He went on to play with GMC and ultimately La Clery Football Team in the St. Lucia Semi Professional League (SPFL). He has featured in Central Castries District Under 15 team, National Under 14, Under 15 and Under 17 teams.
Ajani Hippolyte was known to be a player with immense talent and game discipline that is reserved for players in the games’ higher levels. He was sufficiently versatile on the playing surface, being able to play in multiple positions propelling him to feature in different areas for the various teams he played with.
Off the pitch, family and friends refer to min as “Jimmy,” a warm, affectionate, fun-loving character.
This marks the second time in four months that the local football fraternity and consequently the SPFL community has been struck by tragedy. Sherman Augustin of the Gros Islet District League was fatally stabbed in July, during activities marking St. Lucia’s annual carnival celebrations.
After much effort Ajani Hippolyte’s body was recovered off the northwest coast of the island near The Body Holiday Resort.