Jamaicans named among Team Visa ranks

With just days until the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Visa, the official payment technology partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, has unveiled Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Omar McLeod as members of its Team Visa for Tokyo athlete programme roster. This, it says, is to support and celebrate Visa’s largest group of Olympic and Paralympic athletes to date.

Visa says since launching the Team Visa programme in 2000, it has championed more than 500 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls, as part of overall efforts that empower athletes to be successful both on the field and off.

“The resilience and dedication that our Team Visa Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls have shown over the past year is nothing short of inspiring, and watching them turn the uncertainty into resolve is a mindset we can all learn from,” Luciana Resende, senior vice-president of marketing for Visa Latin America and the Caribbean said. “We are honoured to support Team Visa – and all athletes competing in Tokyo – in what has been a longer-than-anticipated journey for them, but will undoubtedly remind us of the exceptional strength and character that is required to get there.”

Visa says it is proud because “the resilience and unbreakable spirit of Olympic and Paralympic athletes can be seen in experiences of veterans and newcomers alike over the past year, spreading messages of optimism and positivity, while staying dedicated to their training to compete on the world stage in Tokyo”.

Fraser-Pryce, in particular, it says, made donations to student athletes via her Pocket Rocket Foundation as Jamaica and the world continue to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Team Visa’s Latin American and Caribbean roster

1. Delfina Merino (Argentina, field hockey)

2. Paula Pareto (Argentina, judo)

3. Gustavo Fernandez (Argentina, wheelchair tennis)

4. Alison Cerutti (Brazil, beach volleyball)

5. Gabriel Medina (Brazil, surfing)

6. Daniel Dias (Brazil, Para-swimming)

7. Mariana Pajon (Colombia, BMX racing)

8. Kenneth Tencio (Costa Rica, BMX freestyle)

9. Luguelin Santos (Dominican Republic, athletics – track & field)

10. Daniel Alvarez (Ecuador, Athletics – race walking)

11. Erick Barrondo (Guatemala, Athletics – race walking)

12. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica, athletics – track and field)

13. Omar McLeod (Jamaica, athletics – sprints/hurdles)

14. Maria Espinoza (Mexico, taekwondo)

15. Alonso Edward (Panama, athletics – track and field)

16. Stefano Pescheira (Peru, sailing)

17. Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico, table tennis)

18. Mikel Thomas (Trinidad & Tobago, athletics)