Diversity excites Grange

Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor - Sport

Minister of Sports, Olivia Grange, expressed happiness last night at the diversity of sports in which Jamaica will be represented at the 16th Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, October 14-30.

Speaking at the final briefing for team managers at the head office of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) last night, Minister Grange, in congratulating those who have been selected, said: "I am deeply proud of the composition of the Jamaica team ... I am happy with the diversity ... it warms my heart as we have been focusing on various sporting interests to realise their dream."

Jamaica will be represented by 11 sporting disciplines at the Games, including beach volleyball for the first time, athletics, badminton, women's basketball, boxing, cycling, equestrian, shooting,

Squash, swimming and taekwondo.

By far the largest sport contingent among the 60-strong team will be athletics with 15 women and 17 men. Among the women are 400 metres runner Patricia Hall, a member of the 4x400 metres squad at the recent IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Good performance expected

The men's team also includes three athletes who made the trip to Daegu - sprinter Lansford Spence, 400m hurdles Isa Phillips and decathalete Maurice Smith, a gold medallist in this event at the last Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, four years ago.

Head coach of the track team, Raymond Graham, said the unit was not the strongest that Jamaica could put out, but he still expected a good performance.

"At this time of the year it would have been difficult to get our best athletes, as our top athletes are just coming back from the World Championships and most of these athletes are now preparing for next year's London Olympics. Based on those we have, I think we have a reasonable team ... as there are many athletes with experience," Graham said.

President of the JOA, Mike Fennell, in giving an overview of what to expect in Guadalajara, lauded long-time sponsors Digicel who, on Tuesday, signed a new four-year sponsorship agreement with the JOA.

Chef de Mission Compton Rodney will leave for the Games on Saturday, with the first set of athletes down to fly out next Tuesday. Among the teams leaving on Tuesday are badminton, taekwondo, beach volleyball, cycling and shooting.

The local-based members of the track and field team are not due to leave the island until October 20. Track and field starts on October 23 and runs to October 30.