Through a Government Information Services release, BVI Post has announced the launch of a new commemorative stamp collection featuring the Territory’s athletes; Chantel Malone, Kyron McMaster, Eldred Henry and Elinah Phillip.
This collection was launched today and is said to be significant as it is the first time four athletes have qualified for any Olympic Games. Each stamp selected in this collection was chosen as it depicts the respective athlete receiving top medal achievements and applauds the athletes on reaching this milestone in their athletic careers.
The 5 cent (₵) Stamp depicts Elinah Phillip at the Youth Olympic Games, Buenos Aires 2018 swimming in the 50m freestyle semi-finals. She was the only Caribbean swimmer who advanced from the heats and ranked 15th out of 55 swimmers overall. Elinah is the Virgin Islands’ first swimmer to compete at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, the FINA World Championships, FINA World Cup and Youth Olympic Games.
The 20 cent (₵) Stamp depicts Eldred Henry at the 23rd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, 2018. He won a Bronze medal in the shot put with a throw of 20.18m which also set a new national record. Additionally, he was the first of the VI’s athletes to win a medal at Barranquilla 2018.
The $1.00 Stamp depicts Kyron McMaster at the 23rd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, 2018 where he set a new CAC Games record when he won the Gold in the 400m hurdles with a time of 47.60 seconds. To date, this is the BVI’s fifth Gold medal won at the five consecutive CAC Games.
The $5.00 Stamp depicts Chantel Malone at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games where she made history by winning the Virgin Islands’ first Pan American Games medal when she leapt a distance of 6.68m in the long jump to take the Gold medal.
The commemorative collection of stamps and a special First Day Cover will be on sale for 12 months at all postal locations and will remain on sale at the Philatelic Bureau for an additional six months. The prices range from 5₵ to $6.75.
The BVI Post stands in support of all the athletes participating in the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo and wishes them great success in their respective events.