The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

TWENTY participants will represent The Bahamas at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile following the selection made by the Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC).

The 19th edition of the Pan Am Games will begin today and continue until November 5 with more than 6,800 athletes from 41 countries vying to make it to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Bahamas’ representatives are expected to compete in six sporting disciplines which include sailing, tennis, swimming, athletics, golf and wrestling.

Nine members will compete in the swimming segment of the event which is scheduled to begin on Saturday. The swimming team features Lamar Taylor (50m and 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, and relays), Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson (100m and 200m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200 IM/Relays), Emmanuel Gadson (100m butterfly, 200 IM, 200m breaststroke and relays), Jack Barr (100m and 1500m freestyle, and relays), Victoria Russell (50m freestyle and relays), Luke Thompson (200m, 400m freestyle and relays), Mark-Anthony Thompspn (100m breaststroke and relays), Katelyn Cabral (relays), and Ariel Weech (relays).

The swimming team will be coached by Sara Knowles.

The tennis sporting discipline which begins Monday, October 23 has three members that will compete in Santiago, Chile. Justin Roberts will be in action for singles, mixed, and men’s doubles matches. Meanwhile, Sydney Clarke will play in the singles and mixed matches.

Kevin Major is slated to compete in singles action alongside Roberts in the men’s doubles. Larikah Russell will coach the team.

Sailing commences on Saturday, October 28 and has a lone competitor, Joshua Higgins (ILCA 7).

Athletics will follow sailing two days later on October 30. Representing The Bahamas will be Rhema Otabor (javelin), Samson Colebrooke (100m), Kendrick Thompson and Ken Mullings (decathlon), and veteran jumper Donald Thomas (high jump).

Antonio Saunders will coach the athletics team for the Pan Am Games.

The remaining sports will include wrestling which begins on November 1 and golf on November 2. Rashji Mackey will compete in the 86 kg freestyle category. For golf, Nolan Johnson will represent the country and the Bahamas Golf Federation (BGF) president Lynford Miller will serve as the caddie.

Romell Knowles, president of the BOC, has great expectations for the team with competition set to begin this weekend. “We expect some great performances led by Donald Thomas who is the cagey veteran.

“We believe it is a very strong team with talented athletes who are anxious to make their mark on the international scene,” Knowles said. “We have a number of young athletes and veteran athletes as well.

“The team is smaller than usual, but it is a good mixture. We are proud of them and we wish them well,” he added.

Although the team has fewer members than the last contingent which had 33 members, Knowles is optimistic about the athletes’ ability to perform and make a push for the Olympic Games next year in Paris, France.

“We have Higgins on the water while tennis is loaded with talent with Justin Roberts, Sydney Clarke and Kevin Major.

“Swimming has a lot of talent with the experience of Ariel Weech and others such as Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson and Taylor who were at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games this past summer. There is also the talent of Barr, Russell, Luke-Kennedy Thompson, Mark-Anthony Thompson and Katelyn Cabral,” Knowles said.

As it relates to one of the more seasoned competitors, high jumper Thomas, the president has high hopes for the field event competitor. “We’re looking for good things from Thomas who is the senior man on the team. He’s going to obviously inspire the young athletes and it is exciting to watch him perform,” the BOC president said.

He added the committee is pleased to extend the Olympic programme to golf and is expecting freestyle wrestler Mackey to make a breakthrough after his stints in a few international tournaments.

The 19th Pan Am Games will open today.