SKN athletes have a lot on the line in Beijing
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- AS the largest contingent of athletes to attend an Olympic Games since the Federation’s debut appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Games, the four athletes of Team St. Kitts-Nevis may stand poised to win the nation’s very first Olympic medal.
The Vice President of the St. Kitts-Nevis National Olympic Committee, (SKNOC) Dennis ‘Freddy’ Knight has stated that this year’s contingent of athletes is “a bit of a mixture” in their medal chances, but the SKNOC remains confident that they will perform well under the extreme pressure.
“You have Kim [Collins], who this will probably be his last big hoorah. Then there is Tiandra [Ponteen] and Virgil [Hodge], who are sort of in-between. Tiandra has been there before in 2004 and can go back again. For Virgil, this is her first time at the Olympics, but she has a bit of experience.
“Then there is Meritzer [Williams], who is the new kid on the block. Therefore, our expectations are quite varied,” said Knight.
Knight stated that he was very excited to see the nineteen-year-old Williams run in her Olympic “christening”. He noted that her composure is much greater than many senior athletes and the Beijing Games would highlight her mental toughness as a competitor. ~~Adz:Right~~
“She’s run in the World Juniors, which was a good prelude, but there is nothing like when you step out there at the Olympics. What we expect to see is for her to do some rounds, and it would be great if she got into the semi-finals,” he said.
For the other two girls, Knight said that this Olympics is particularly important to the development of their careers.
“Tiandra had been out of athletics for some time due to injury and then she was married and had a child, so she is really trying to get back on the scene now. We think she will at least give a good enough showing to get her back in the top rankings in the world, which is where she was at before she took the hiatus.”
The SKNOC Vice President noted that while both Ponteen and Hodge are young enough to represent St. Kitts-Nevis again at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the Beijing Games’ Women’s 100m and 200m are likely to be ‘make or break’ races in Hodge’s career.
“For Virgil, these games are a matter of establishing her name. She is finished with college now and needs to do well enough to get her name out there and land a good agent that can get her on the professional circuit.”
In spite of the Federation’s several strong females, many athletics fans from the twin-island and around the world will have their eyes solely focused upon the 2003 World Champion Kim Collins as he attempts to beat some of the fastest 100m athletes in the history of the sport.
“Kim is running fairly well by his own standards; as well as could be expected for coming back at his age and not being active for almost a season and a half.,” said Knight.
“We would expect him to at least get semi-final berth, and would be really pleased if he got into the finals. In the finals of the 100m, which is the crème-de-la-crème of Olympics, anything can happen.”
This year’s male 100m has been garnering particular attention due mainly to Jamaican World record holders, past and present, Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt, and American sprinter Tyson Gay who recently ran an amazing, wind assisted 9.68.
“I think the world still has a certain amount of fear and respect for [Collins]. Just the other day I heard a U.S. radio program talking about the race and they said, “Bolt, Powell, Gay…and don’t forget about Kim Collins.
“Kim seems to have a particular ability to perform when it comes to the bigger races, unlike some of the other athletes, like Powell, who wilt under pressure,” said Knight.
Ultimately, however, Knight said that Collins will have to run some of the best times in his life if he expects to win against a field of such strong competitors.
Collins will get his chance to best Powell early in the competition, as the men will both be running in Heat 2 of Round 1on Friday, August 15th at 9:53 a.m. Beijing time. The first Round of 100m Heats will be broadcast in the Federation the same day at 10:57 a.m. on NBC.
