Four athletes have been selected to represent the BVI at the 2023 Pan American (Pan Am) Games in Santiago, Chile.
The BVI Olympic Committee (BVIOC) named Eldred Henry (shot put), Djimon Gumbs (discus throw), Deya Erickson (100m hurdles) and Thad Lettsome (men’s ILCA 7 laser) as registered to compete.
Erickson will be the flag bearer for the VI at the Opening Ceremony on October 20.
This will be Henry and Lettsome’s second Panam Games appearance and the first for Gumbs and Erickson.
The schedule for the track and field events starts on October 30 with Gumbs competing in the discus throw at 6:40 p.m. EST. Erickson competes in the 100m hurdles heats at 5:45 p.m. EST on October 31 with Henry competing in the shot put at 4:25 p.m. EST on November 3.
The track and field events take place at the Coliseo del Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez, Ñuñoa, Región Metropolitana.
Lettsome’s races will take place 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. at Cofradia Nautica del Pacífico in the Valparaiso region, October 28 – November 5.
Mark Chapman is the Chef de Mission for Santiago 2023.
“This is the VI’s 11th Pan Am Games. We have competed in each of the Games since the 9th edition. The event will be the last of the season for our athletes and I am satisfied that the Games’ organisers have put in all efforts to provide comfortable accommodations and good competition venues,” said Chapman.
Also speaking ahead of the Games was President of the BVIOC Ephraim Penn.
“It has been a long season for all team members, and we congratulate them on securing spots at the Games…It’s the last major competition of the year before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and we wish our athletes well,” Penn stated.
Penn will be in Chile for the PanAm Sports AGM ahead of the Games which he will attend not just as President of the BVIOC, but also as a member of the PanAm Sports Technical Commission.
Approximately 6,909 participants from 41 countries in the Caribbean and Americas are expected to compete in 39 sports. The Games provide an opportunity for competitors to qualify for Paris 2024.
The Games will be streamed live on the Panam Sports Channel on YouTube with news on our athletes provided by 284 Media’s Kamal Haynes and Todd Van Sickle of the BVI Beacon.