Olympian Eldred Henry secured a 1st place finish in the shot put event at the Tucson Elite Classic at the University of Arizona on Thursday.
Facing competition from seven other athletes, the BVI’s national record holder soared to the top of the leaderboard with a throw of 19.53 meters on his second attempt. American Zach Landa finished second with a best distance of 19.10 metres.
The Tucson Elite Classic marks Henry’s second appearance in the 2024 track and field season, as he embarks on his journey to qualify for the highly anticipated 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. With unwavering determination following sustained injuries, Henry has made qualifying for the Olympic Games one of his primary objectives for the season as stated in an interview with 284 Media.
Notably, Henry made history as the first athlete from the British Virgin Islands to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. However, despite his remarkable achievement, he was forced to withdraw from the competition due to an unfortunate elbow injury.
His first Olympic appearance was at the Rio 2016 Games in Brazil.