Athletes fail to shine in Commonwealth Games

We haven’t heard much about the Commonwealth Games, recently concluded in Manchester, England. That’s because with no good news to report, Belize’s delegation remained silent. But now the Belizeans are back and a souvenir tape of the opening ceremonies reveals an upbeat start.

Emcee

“Give it up for Belize.”

(Athletes marching out)

But after the opening ceremonies it was all downhill for Belize. Of the four track and field athletes, two–Jaheed Smith and Gina Lovell–were injured before their heats were even called and observed the games as spectators. Sprinter Emma Wade finished out of the money in her hundred meters qualifying heat and suffered an injury that kept here out of the two hundred. Shot-putter Robert Kidd competed but did not perform well. Boxer Horace Cadle had last minute visa problems and did not make the trip, while teammate Joseph Eagan lost his first fight when the referee stopped the four round bout with a Nigerian in the second round. Eagan, according to the ref, was not sufficiently aggressive. Belize’s cyclists did no better as on a very tough road course with ninety-three riders Andrew Smiling dropped out after three laps, Mateo Cruz was lapped on the eighth circuit, Ernest Meighan was out on the ninth and Jeffrey Zelaya was lapped on the tenth. Shooters Charles Chavannes Jr. and Norman Pennill were said to perform well in their competition, but still failed to advance to the final round. Top performances in the games by Caribbean athletes came from Jamaica, Trinidad and the Bahamas.