Star athlete Emanuel Archibald will look to make hay in the sunshine this weekend in his last heroic effort to qualify for the Olympic Games next month in Tokyo, Japan.
With the Olympic qualifying window for Track and Field closing in four days, Archibald has taken his talents to the Bahamas to compete in their National Championships “to realize his Olympic dream.”
The 24-year-old national Long Jump record holder (8.12m), will compete in the blue-ribbon Men’s 100m and in the pit at the three-day fixture which kicks off today from 17:30hrs at the Thomas Robinson National Stadium.
Prior to boarding his flight yesterday, Archibald, who ran a personal best 10.18s in a gold medal-winning performance at the local National Championships last weekend, told this publication that his aim is to achieve personal bests on the track and in the field.
“I am going to this meet to get in some 100m and some good jumps to stay ready. Basically this meet is to secure some more ranking points in my preparation for my Olympic dream.”
The Olympic qualifying standard for the 100m and the long jump is 10.05s and 8.22m. If Archibald does not achieve the qualifying standards this weekend, he may still be able to clinch an Olympic berth depending on where he is ranked in the respective events. However, the native of Linden would be competing with 10.05 and 8.22m at the forefront of his mind. Archibald’s trip was made possible by Ansa McAL, the company he had inked a one-year brand ambassador deal with on Wednesday. He thanked his new sponsor and promised to put his best foot forward.
Stabroek Sport will keep readers updated on Archibald’s performances this weekend.
