Local youngsters head to China for youth Olympics

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee (CIOC) is sending a team of five athletes to participate in the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in China this week in four sports. The country will be represented by Pearl Morgan who will be competing in the 200m at the track, Morgan Lloyd in Artistic Gymnastics, Polly Serpell in the Individual Jumping Event and Florence Allan and Pablo Bertan in the One Person Dingy Sailing Event. The first summer version of the YOG was held in Singapore in 2010 where Cayman sent a team of four. Competitors at these unique games which include cultural and education programmes as well as competitive sport, are aged between 14 to 18.

The programmes are based on the Olympic values that promote healthy lifestyles and allow young athletes to become well-rounded individuals with "true sporting spirits."  They combine Olympic traditions (such as the torch relay) with diverse cultures to spread the Olympic spirit.

Team Cayman have begun their two day journey and will arrive in Nanjing on 13 August, with their competition beginning on 18 August after the opening ceremony on 16 August.

The committee noted that local track star Jamal Walton who recently suffered a strained hamstring at the World Junior Championships will not be able to compete and despite her great performance in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games Lauren Hew has not been selected by the International Swimming Association (FINA) to compete.

For more information please visit the Official Website for the Games: http://www.nanjing2014.org/en. For pictures and up to date information on the Cayman Islands delegation, please visit website http://www.caymanolympic.org.ky/ or the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/