Belize Out of Medals at Commonwealth Youth Games

Orson Butler

The Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas have been completed and Belize’s team of five athletes returned on Tuesday. Their results were less than stellar, with track runners Joshire Stanley and the lone female, Hillary Gladden, unable to qualify from their heats for the one hundred and two hundred meter races and tennis player Adrian Marshalleck scoring just one point in his match with an English opponent. Cyclists Gian Lino and Nashen Ysaguirre fared better, coming middle of the pack in the road race and just missing out on top ten places. But Head of Delegation Orson Butler says the experience was worthwhile and believes Belize can improve its standard of competition to match the region.

Orson Butler, Head of Delegation, Commonwealth Youth Games 2017

 “Their performance in the track and field was exceptionally better than they normally perform in Belize; however, their competition out there with other Commonwealth countries is a little bit above their level; we just need to find a way to get the guys going, uplift their training so that they can compete against the Commonwealth countries. In cycling, the competition was fierce; we managed to get fifteenth and eighteenth with a four-man breakaway just finished about thirty-five seconds before the main peloton. So the guys just got outsprinted at the end but they competed well.”

The other official accompanying the athletes was Tricia Flores.