King honoured for achievements
Arantxa King has been named among the newest members of the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Athlete Hall of Fame.
The two-times Olympic long jumper is among seven new inductees who will join a select group of elite athletes from Massachusetts at the induction ceremony to be held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Centre in Massachusetts on January 29.
King thrived during her NCAA career at Stanford University where she was an NCAA runner-up and All-American on multiple occasions.
“I loved my college track team!,” King said. “
We had great success placing top three in Pac -10/12 in the years I competed. One of our greatest team memories was when we won the 2012 Indoor Conference Meet.”
Just last November the Bermudian joined elder sister Akilah in the Medford High Mustang Hall of Fame.
“I had the privilege of running with my older sister my freshmen year in high school,” King said.
“My older sister is someone I admired to the extent that I strived to mimic [and surpass] her athletic and academic achievements.”
King, who lives in London, retired from competition last week. “I retired after a series of injuries I could not overcome and the general sentiments of wanting to move on from sport,” she said.
During her distinguished career King represented Bermuda at the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 London Games as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The national indoor and outdoor record holder also competed at the World Championships in Moscow in 2013 and the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007.
She won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, in 2011, as well as claiming gold at the World Youth Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2005 and multiple honours at the Carifta Games and Pan American Junior Games.
King’s announcement last week followed on from the retirement of Olympic swimmers Roy-Allan Burch and Julian Fletcher the previous week.