By Neto Baptiste
Senior national sprinter Cejhae Greene, his female counterpart Joella Lloyd and boxer Alston Ryan will lead the country’s charge at the 2020 Olympic Games slated to run from July 23 to August 8 in Tokyo, Japan.
Both Greene and Lloyd will compete in the 100 meters in their respective categories, while Ryan will compete in boxing’s lightweight division. Ryan, who won bronze at the Pan American Games in 2019, qualified for the Olympics based on his fifth-place ranking within the Americas.
Sailor Jelese Gordon alongside swimmers Samantha Roberts and Stefano Mitchell round off the Antigua and Barbuda team to the games.
Gordon, who is currently training in Malta, was awarded a universality spot at the prestigious games. The 19-year-old was previously confirmed as a wild card entry for the games originally slated for 2020, but was forced to wait another year for confirmation because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mitchell will compete in the men’s 100m Freestyle, while Roberts will contest the 50m Freestyle.
Mitchell’s current record for the 100 metre stands at 50.98, a time he achieved at the Colombian Nationals in June 2021. Roberts’ attained her 50 metre standard of 27.27 at the 2019 World Championships in Korea.
Joel Rayne will travel as Chef de Mission with Jamille Nelson and Everton Cornelius as coaches. Renowned sailor Carl James is also part of the delegation with Wayne Mitchell as swimming coach. Rolston Ryan will be on hand as boxing coach with Greene’s personal coach, Henry Rolle, also part of the team.
NOC officials in president EP Chet Greene and secretary general Cliff Williams will also travel to Japan.