U.S. Virgin Islands Olympic athletes and delegates have begun gathering in Sydney, Australia, for next week's opening of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.
Competitions begin Sept. 13, with the official opening ceremony on Sept. 15. According to Dr. Cora Christian, team physician and spokeswoman, a few V.I. Olympians arrived earlier this month to prepare, including sailing competitors Paul Stoeken and Ben Beer.
The other Virgin Islands athletes scheduled to compete are:
– Ameerah Bello (sprints) — competed at the '96 Olympics and qualified in two events in Sydney, the 100 and 200 meters; Bello holds V.I. national records in both distances.
– George Gleason (swimming) — qualified at the USVI Olympic trials in March in the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley; he holds seven USVI swimming records, in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, the 100 and 200 backstroke and the 200 and 400 individual medley.
– Lucy "Gigi" Hewitt (equestrian) — won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1998.
– Flora Hyacinth (long jump) — aims to make the finals again in the long jump, as she did in the '92 Olympics in Barcelona, and be in position for a medal.
– Jeff Jackson (hurdles) — qualified for Sydney at the '99 Pan American Games with a time of 13.84 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
– Bruce Meredith (sharpshooting) — represented the USVI in the '88, '92, and '96 Olympics and won a silver medal at the '95 Pan Am Games.
Hans Lawaetz heads the delegation as president of the USVI Olympic Committee. Christian said the delegation plans to send regular reports on V.I. Olympians as the games progress.