UWI lauds its ‘Rio’ athletes

The Olympic hopefuls from the regional university include four current students from Jamaica and one 2015 alumnus from Trinidad and Tobago; all are track and field athletes, a statement from the UWI said.

The UWI athletes and their sports are as follows: The UWI, Mona Campus (representing Jamaica): Shanieka Thomas — women’s triple jump; Deuce Carter — men’s 110m hurdles; Jaheel Hyde — men’s 400m hurdles; and Frederick Dacres – men’s discus throw; while the athlete representing the UWI, St Augustine Campus (representing Trinidad and Tobago) is Jehue Gordon (2015 alumnus) — 400m hurdles. UWI also recognised Jamaican star athletes, Usain Bolt who will compete in the men’s 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay races and Shelly-Ann Fraser- Pryce who will compete in the women’s 100m and 4x100m relay races. Bolt received an honorary doctor of laws degree from The UWI in 2011 and the inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Exemplar Sports Award in 2015. Fraser- Pryce will also receive an honorary UWI doctor of laws degree during The UWI Mona 2016 graduation ceremonies.

Congratulating the athletes on their Olympic qualifications, UWI noted that it was an exciting time for the young university with these athletes in the spotlight.

The UWI which spans 17 islands across the Caribbean region has produced numerous professional athletes in its over 60 years of existence. All four campuses also offer training from certificate to masters’ programmes in sport and are home to outstanding sporting facilities that are used for high performance training. Earlier this year, Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles announced plans to develop a Faculty of Sport and establish the University as a Centre for Sporting Excellence.