CIOC sends 6 athletes and young reporter to China

(CNS): Jamal Walton, Pearl Morgan, Polly Serpell Morgan Llyod, Florence Allan and Pablo Bertan will be flying the flag for the Cayman Islands when they compete for their country at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China next month. The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee which has just dispatched its largest even number of athletes to the commonwealth games in Glasgow said this youth team is twice the size of the team that represented Cayman at the 2010 as the level of local sports go from strength to strength. The games begin on 16 August and the athletes will compete in athletics, equestrian, gymnastics and sailing.

In athletics, Jamal Walton and Pearl Morgan compete in the 400 m and 200 m respectively while Rider, Polly Serpell will jump in the individual competition and Morgan Llyod, the youngest athlete at 15, will participate in the individual all-around gymnastics. The sailors, Florence Allan and Pablo Bertan will compete in the one person dingy.

Meanwhile, Jade Webster, a young journalist, has been selected to participate in the Young Reporters Programme for the games. Webster, representing the Americas, is one of 31 young people around the world selected to participate in the programme. The Young Reporters were selected by the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees through a rigorous selection process.  Representing each of the five continents, they are between the ages of 18 and 24. 

Cayman's athletes will be in action from August 18, with Equestrian first up. All athletes and officials will be traveling to Nanjing early next month in time for the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at 8:00 pm Beijing time, (7 am Cayman time) on 16 August at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre stadium. The team will attend all cultural and education programs until the closing ceremony on August 28th.

Swimmer Lauren Hew will not be attending the Youth Olympic Games, as she has not been selected by FINA, swimming's governing body. Hew achieved the B qualifying time standard in the 50m backstroke at the CARIFTA games earlier this year; however, with the large number of athletes that achieved A qualification times, this limits the number of B qualified athletes that can compete.