Samuel revels in sunny weather conditions

St. Vincent and the Grenadines may not possess top of the line Track and Field facilities, but Canadian-born Vincentian middle distance athlete Delhonni Nicol-Samuel finds himself here whenever he gets the opportunity.{{more}}

Nicol-Samuel, the son of former national long distance runner Dane Samuel resides in Manitoba, Canada, but travels to St. Vincent and the Grenadines to train, taking advantage of the favourable weather conditions.

A third year student of Campbell University in North Carolina, USA, where he is pursuing a degree in Accounting, Nicol-Samuel spent the last two weeks here sharpening his skills in the sunny conditions.

Explaining the reason for his frequent visits, the 20-year-old told SEARCHLIGHT: “If I am in Manitoba, I would have to train on the tread mill as it is too cold there, and where I live, there are not many facilities for me to train.”

Nicol-Samuel was here in August on a similar mission, as well as to pick the brain of Track and Field Coach, Michael “Lord Have Mercy” Ollivierre.

“I enjoy working with Mercy, as he knows what he is doing,” Nicol- Samuel stated.

“When I was here in the summer, I found the training to be good, and when I went back to school, actually, I was running faster,” Nicol- Samuel said.

The aspiring athlete, in acknowledging the limitations of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was philosophical about his regular visits here.

“You can have proper facilities and you do not train properly, it makes no sense, and you can have poor facilities and good coaching, and you can be a top athlete,” Nicol- Samuel, who also represented St. Vincent and the Grenadines in Football at the Under-17 level, reasoned.

Nicol- Samuel has copped two Carifta medals for St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Under-17 3000 m and the Under-20 5000 m, in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

However, in his last year at the regional level, Nicol- Samuel was unable to compete, as his university did not give him clearance to do so.

With that behind his back, Nicol- Samuel, is however, looking forward to returning to school January 9, where, during the next semester, he will be focussing on the upcoming indoor and outdoor seasons.

“I feel great, as the two weeks here I did a lot of speed work, and I am expecting to do some good times in the 5000 m and will also be trying the mile run, too,” said Nicol- Samuel, who is the nephew of Bigna Samuel, another former national distance athlete.

The young middle distance runner admitted that it was his father and aunt who influenced him in Track and Field, after first taking a liking to Football.

His medium term plans are to continue improving on his times to put himself in a position to get to represent St. Vincent and the Grenadines at some regional and international meets in the shortest possible time frame.

As for the future, Nicol- Samuel said: “As any athlete, it is my dream one day to run in the Olympics”.(RT)