June 15, 2004 – With the Virgin Islands preparing to send a delegation of seven or eight athletes to Athens in August for the Summer Olympic Games, residents were showing their support earlier this month through participation in Olympic Day activities.
An Olympic Day Run was held June 5 on St. John and another was held last Saturday on St. Croix.
The V.I. Olympic Committee sponsored both events. Hans Lawaetz, committee chair, said on Wednesday that each event was just a "fun day" and an opportunity for the 22 V.I. sports federations to show their Olympic spirit as is being done in other locales around the world which hold Olympic Day events in June. The event on St. John included a torch run from Cruz Bay to Maho Bay, where St. John's Olympic flame was lit.
Lawaetz said two swimmers, two track-and-field athletes and one pistol marksman have qualified so far to represent the territory at the Olympic Games.
Five swimmers will be competing in Jamaica for a spot on the V.I. aquatic team, Lawaetz said, and two track and field athletes and two sailors have hopes still alive to qualify.
St. Croix Results
One of the qualified swimmers, Joshua Laban, won Saturday's 18th Olympic Day Run on the cross-country course on the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix campus. The aerobic capacity developed from thousands and thousands of meters of swimming served him well on land.
After the first mile, Mike Klein, a sailor and consistent runner, was in the lead with a time of 6 minutes and 5 seconds. Laban was not far behind in 6:12. Laban picked up the pace and took the lead midway through the second lap and held it to the end for first place in 11:58. Next in order among the men in the two-mile race were:
2nd — Klein in 12:35.
3rd — Bob Halk, the top V.I. triathlete in this year's St. Croix International Half-Ironman, in 13:06.
4th — Barrymore Berley, V.I. Heatwave Track Club, in 14:24.
5th — Errol Chichester in 14:45.
6th — John Harper, cyclist, in 14:58.
7th — Fred Flint in 15:34
8th — Prospero Lewis, Tennis Federation, in 17:28.
9th – Eurman Fahie, Barracudas Track Club, in 17:29.
10th — Jack Branch, Hovensa, in 18:37.
11th — Troy Holloway in 19:32.
12th — Jerrome Guerra in 20:13.
Letitia Dusich, the top runner in V.I. Pace events this year, eased through the run to finish first for females and third overall in 13:43. Next among the women were:
2nd — Sissel Holloway in 15:03
3rd – Theresa Harper, secretary of the V.I. Cycling Federation,in 15:03.
4th — Louise Stapelton in 15:52.
5th — Andrea Russell, St. Croix Dolphins Swim Club, in 17:27.
St. John Results
In the St. John run, the winner of the three-mile run was Bill Thompson of St. Thomas, with a time of 18:48. The first female finisher was Regina Randazza of St. John, in 19:07.
There also was a one-mile swimming event on St. John. It was won by Louise DuPuy of St. John, with a time of 19:09. The first male finisher was Chris Murray of St. Thomas, in 21:27.
Twenty-eight swimmers and 63 runners took part in the St. John event.
Runners who carried the torch, which was ignited with a magnifying glass using the sun, were Steve Burkholder, Libby Arnold, Moe Chabuz, Bruce Sewer and Randazza.
Runners in both races received Pace Runners medals; V.I. Athens Olympics pins; an International Olympic Committee certificate and an Olympic Day Run T-shirt.
The drawing on St. Croix for a trip to the Athens Olympic Games was won by Celeste Durant, the mother of Adrian Durant, a sprinter qualified to compete in Athens. Larry Williams won the second prize, a set of Athens Olympic Games videotapes, and Susan Armstrong won a television set.
According to a release from the V.I. Pace Runners, Virgin Islands federation officials present at the St. Croix event included Marlon Williams, VIOC vice president; Tom Guthrie, Cycling Federation president; Prospero Lewis, former Tennis Federation president; John Harper, former Cycling Federation president, and Wallace Williams, Track and Field Federation secretary. Also on hand were parents and friends of participants from a number of federations.
For more information, visit the V.I. Pace Web site, or call 777-0258.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
