VI athletes take podium spots @ US meets
Three [British] Virgin Islands (VI) athletes kept the territory’s flag flying high over the past weekend as they performed exceptionally well in their various disciplines. Beyonce A. DeFreitas, Diamante Gumbs and Kimberley Smith all secured podium spots at their respective meets in the United States.
Sprinter DeFreitas nailed gold and bronze in the women’s 200 meters and 60 meters, respectively, at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Birmingham, Alabama on February 24-25, 2023.
Representing the University of Central Florida (UCF), DeFreitas, clocked 23.34 to win the indoor Conference Championship.
She then ran 7.36 seconds in the 60m, placing 3rd overall.
Northwestern State University’s Diamante
Gumbs finished second in the Men’s Weight Throw at the Southland Indoor
Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama,
on Sunday, February 26, 2023. Dynamic Diamante
Meanwhile, Diamante Gumbs finished second in the men’s weight throw at the Southland Indoor Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, February 26, 2023.
Gumbs, a Junior at Northwestern State University, did the institution proud with his throw of 18.39m or 60 feet and 4 inches. He fouled three attempts and had two other legal throws of 18.14m and 17.77m, besides his second-place distance.
Gumbs came in behind Garrett Stokes, a sophomore at the University of the Incarnate Word, who did the winning throw of 18.62m or 61 feet and 1.25 inches.
Earlier this season, the twin throwing sensation Diamante and Djimon L. Gumbs competed in the Texas Tech University Corky Invitational, held January 13 and 14, 2023.
Djimon and Diamante secured a first and eighth place finish, respectively, in the shot-put event, tossing the implement a distance of 17.44m (57’ 2 3/4”) and 16.08m (52’ 9 3/4”), respectively.
Kimberly Smith placed second in the
women’s Long Jump final when she achieved a Personal Best at the
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Indoor Track and Field
Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas on Saturday, February 25, 2023. Long Jump silver for Kimberly Smith
Meantime, Kimberly Smith, placed second in the women’s Long Jump final when she achieved a Personal Best. She missed the gold medal by a mere two centimeters.
The action took place at the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Indoor Track and Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas on Saturday, February 25, 2023, the second day of the three-day meet.
It was on Smith’s second attempt that she made the winning silver-medal performance of 5.88 meters or 19 feet and 3.5 inches. On her first attempt she did a distance of 5.69m, 5.45m on the third attempt, 5.77m on the fourth attempt, 5.74m fifth attempt, and 5.56m on the sixth and final attempt.
