On Wednesday, members of Belize’s National Athletics team returned from Panama to a warm reception. They were met at the Phillip Goldson International Airport by the President of the Belize Olympic Committee, Ned Pitts, as well as representatives from the Belize Sports Council. Their reception was well deserved as Belize’s only 4 gold medals in the IX Central American Games came in the discipline of athletics.
Â
Trecia Flores won Belize’s first gold medal on April 16 in the long jump competition. She
did it by breaking Maria Pies’ record with a jump of 5.97 meters. The record was set in 2001. Flores said that even though it was difficult to prepare for the long jump competition in Belize since our sporting complex is under construction, she never took her mind off breaking the record. She said, “I know what I wanted to do and I went and did it.” She says her goal now is to improve on that record setting jump.
Jonathan Williams represented Belize in his event of specialty, the 400 meters hurdle. It was no surprise that he won the gold medal in dominating fashion. Williams also won the silver medal in the 110 meter hurdles. He did not make the trip to Belize because he had to fly directly back to Los Angeles.
Belize’s most decorated athlete at the Games was Kaina Martinez. She came home with gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters event. She also placed second to Flores in the Long Jump competition. She said it was difficult to train for the event with her heavy school load but she stuck to her goal. She said that her success comes from “trusting in God, believing in herself and focusing on her goals.”
The next event for these athletes is the Central American Championships in June of this year.
