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Discovering Belize Gold medalist, Hilary Gladden

SportsDiscovering Belize Gold medalist, Hilary Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 25, 2019– In the sport of athletics, the most spectacular event is the 100m race. Who is the fastest? For the past decade, the face of athletics worldwide has been Jamaican sprinter and world record holder Usain Bolt, and his female counterpart, Jamaican female sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

In the Belize delegation headed for the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru this week, the Belize Olympic Committee press release included one Hilary Gladden among the 9 member delegation. (See the story “Belize Olympic Committee sends delegation of 9 to XVIII Pan American Games in Lima, Peru” elsewhere in this issue.) With athletics usually the highlight of these games, our curiosity was drawn to the sole sprinter in the delegation, Hilary Gladden, who will be representing Belize in the 100 meter race at the Pan American Games.

With no response from our attempt to contact Belize Athletics Association (BAA) President, Deon Sutherland, our search turned up a Facebook post from back on May 18 of this year by Ruben Morales, which was most interesting. How could we have missed this? Has the BAA been keeping secrets from us, after grossly disrespecting Belize’s most decorated athlete, Kaina Martinez, in the last Olympic Games? We don’t recall receiving any report from the BAA on this signature achievement by a young Belizean athlete. It is one thing to win a race, local or regional, but it is definitely noteworthy to set a new record in the region, overcoming that held by no less than a Costa Rican, who are considered the elite athletes in Central America.

Our outstanding Belizean volleyball girls have come up just a bit short of eclipsing the perennial regional champions, Costa Rica. We had to settle for Silver there; but, as Ruben reported, Hilary Gladden won Gold for Belize, and also broke the record set by a Costa Rican in the 200 meter race. But, with canoeing getting a boost from the Olympic Committee, Hilary will  not be carrying the flag of the Belize delegation to these Pan Am Games; her turn will surely come.

Ruben posted on May 18, 2019:

“Hilary Gladden ran the 200m in 24.11 seconds and set a new Central American record at the Central American U18/U20 Athletics 9 in San Salvador, El Salvador on Saturday, May 17, 2019.  Cuban coach Roandys Hernández Díaz says Gladden shaved off 0.82 of a second from the 24.93 previous U20 record held by a Costa Rican athlete…”

Belize World Champions of Mayan game

Just for the record, on another topic, we also came upon this Ruben Morales post from back on May 4:

“Belize’s Ek’ Balam pok ta pok team are back-to-back World Champions of the ancestral Mayan game.

“Menalio Novelo, Sr., National Team coach reports that today, Saturday, May 4, 2019, Ek’ Balam from Yo Creek, Orange Walk, beat Mexican champions Tahdzibichen 56 to 26 in the pok ta pok World Cup Finals in San Salvador, El Salvador.

“Earlier today, Ek’ Balam defeated Mexican subchamps Chapab 65-16 in the semifinals, while Tahdzibichen beat Guatemala’s Ukotzijal Ajpu 51-32.”

Big-Up our Gold Medal athletes!

Feature photo: (l to r) Cuban coach, Roandys Hernandez Diaz; Belize Gold medalist, Hilary Gladden; BAA President, Deon Sutherland

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