The government of the Virgin Islands awarded Olympian long-jump athlete Chantel Malone with a $12,000 cheque, for her recent accomplishment of reaching the final in that event in the just concluded Olympic Games in Tokyo Japan.
The cheque was handed to Malone as she was welcomed back home into territory for the first time since competing at the Games, during a specially held press conference at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport.
Minister responsible for Sport Dr. Natalio Wheatley prior to surprising Malone with the cheque, commended her for her many accomplishments to date, naming Malone a living legend in BVI’s athletics history.
He said, “Certainly, we can feel really good about our accomplishment as a territory and Chantel you can be really proud and when president Ephraim read the list of accomplishments, that you are a well decorated athlete and I would say legend already, a living legend in the BVI and based off your accomplishments we’d have to certainly acknowledge beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are one of the most successful athletes in BVI history and some of the most successful athletes in this region.”
Government’s pledge to continue supporting athletes
The minister also spoke on his government’s continuous commitment to support athletes in the territory, stating that no amount of money could ever pay for the type of representation exhibited by the BVI’s professional athletes on the international stage.
“I want to say Chantel I’m extremely proud of you and I will certainly seek to do even more that we’ve done before because through the journey I know there was some level of anxiety about support and being able to do other things you need to do such as get the treatments. The athletes that you’re competing against they don’t have any shortage of support in those type of areas and while we’re a small territory with just a fraction of those countries, we’re going to seek to do more and we will do more to support the development. That is something I can promise and I know Minister Malone will back me up on that as well, as well as the Leader of the Opposition,” Dr Wheatley stated.
Will be getting back to my roots
Meanwhile, Malone said while being present in the BVI she intends to get back to her roots as a means to reset and prepare for her upcoming athletic season.
She said, “I want this trip home to be a little different. In my head I want to get back to the roots of what made me me, what makes me happy, you know going back to the basics of running on the road and I’m planning on training for about a week or two here before I get back.”
“So it’s about recharging and just being centered. I want to get back to a place where I’m centered in a world where I feel like there is so much pressure being put on us to have everything figured out. I think that is something that I really need to work on right now,” she added.
Malone said she will also be looking forward to mentoring the young local athletes at a number of school visits and camps which is a collaborative effort between the BVI Olympic Committee and the BVI Athletic Association.