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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Watson upbeat about upcoming events for athletes

Bermuda National Athletics Association (BNAA) president Donna Watson is buoyant about the upcoming schedule for local athletes on the international stage after another encouraging weekend overseas.Carifta athlete Kerri Furbert competed for the University of Missouri track and field team at the Ole Miss Invitational over the weekend, finishing second in the women’s long jump with a leap of 5.62 metres.Also competing at the weekend was Allison Outerbridge and her University of Tennessee teammates who won the Tony Wilson Memorial Trophy at the 47th Annual Sea Ray Relays.The Bermudian grabbing the bronze medal in the women’s triple jump, leaping 12.2 metres.Along with the two female athletes, middle distance runner Kyrah Scraders attended a camp with coach Jarita Vickers in Eugene, Oregon, also known as "Track Town USA” to further her track knowledge in her speciality events after receiving some training tips from IAAF instructor Peter Thompson.The talented 800 and 1,500 metres runner celebrated double medal success at this year’s Carifta Games in the Bahamas, claiming gold in the 800 metres after a personal best time of 2:11.62 and silver in the 1500 metres after her time of 39.43 set a new Bermuda record.“With the number of senior meets this summer we are hoping that our senior athletes like Taylor-Ashley (Bean), Ashley (Berry), Jasmine (Brunson), and Allison save something from university to compete for Bermuda,” said Watson. “Of course we have our elite athletes Tyrone Smith, Arantxa King, Aaron Evan, Shianne Smith, and Tre Houston who are attempting to qualify for the World Championships in Moscow this summer.“I also think it is very important that Kyrah gets as many opportunities to grow and develop as she can definitely put Bermuda on the map.“As you know we lose our female teenagers in sport often and I would really like to see how far Kyrah can go.”With the Women’s Sports Expo on the horizon, Watson hopes that the next few months bring more inspiring performances by the local contingent overseas as they prepare for bigger competitions on the international scene.“We have of course coming up at the end of the month the Women In Sports Expo and we are looking forward to that being a great event even though it is for all female sports.“Our next immediate event will be the CAC age group championships for 11 to 12 and 13 to 14.“We have our CAC senior championships, University games, IAAF World junior and senior championships and Pan Am Jrs. Of course we will have some of our athletes on display during the NatWest Island Games.“We want all our athletes to stay fit and continue to perform at the level that they have been thus far. As you can see in recent times, Taylor, Jasmine and Aaron have done well for their schools and a few of the other seniors are hitting their stride now so it is looking good for what lies ahead for them and the country.”