Reason for non-participation of twins in Pan American Juniors still unknown
No definitive reason has yet been given why twin brothers Reberto and Reuberth Boyde did not attend the Pan American Junior Championships in Medellin, Colombia, last weekend.{{more}}
The twins, along with Keron Arthur, Brandon Valentine-Parris and Kasique Oliver were selected. However, about two weeks before the championships, Reberto and Reuberth told the authorities that they were not interested in making the trip.
Reports say that efforts were made to convince the brothers to change their minds; however, that proved futile.
It is reported that the non-refundable tickets purchased for the two boys amounted to almost EC$7,000.
When SEARCHLIGHT contacted the Boydesâ coach Garth de Shong last Sunday, he was adamant that he had no influence on the brothersâ decision not to attend the championships and expressed reluctance to speak on the issue.
He further said that neither the brothers, nor their mother wished to speak on the matter.
de Shongâs name was at the centre of the melee, as it was bandied about that he had had a hand in the two deciding to forgo the Colombia outing.
ââ¦It was a decision the two brothers made on their own, which I found out from them later,â de Shong said, when pressed for a response.
de Shong said the brothers had made up their minds to opt out, following their outing in Trinidad and Tobago, at the Morvant Invitational Track Meet on the weekend of August 3 and 4, which they, Valentine-Parris, Arthur and Oliver attended.
de Shong hinted at possible fatigue, as he noted that the brothers, within the last three months, have been doing a lot of travelling and competing.
He said Reberto attended the OECS Invitational in St Kitts in early June, while Reuberth competed in the St Lucia National Championships also in June.
The two then competed in the World Youth Championships, in Ukraine in July and the track and field component of the Windward Islands School Games, which was held here on July 29.
Seen as bright sprint prospects, Reberto reached the semi finals of the 100 and 200 m at the World Youth Championships and Reuberth, the 200 m at the same championships.
In the process, it was the best showing by St Vincent and the Grenadines at the World Youth Championships, which began in 1999.
Despite the non-participation of the twins at the Pan American Junior Championships, Valentine-Parris, Arthur and Oliver participated.
Valentine-Parris clocked 48.90 seconds in his 400 m heats, which was not good enough to get him past the first round, neither was his 2 minutes 06.23 seconds in the 800 m. In both heats, he finished fifth and seventh respectively.
Meanwhile, Arthur timed 22.11 seconds in the 200 m and 49.22 in the 400 m, placing him fourth and fifth respectively.
Oliver was fifth in his 800 m heats, as he clocked 1 minute 57.75 seconds.
The team was managed and coached by Rawlson Morgan.(RT)
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