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Returning champions from the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah,??take time out to poise as a group, last night, at the Grantley Adams International Airport. (C.Pitt/BGIS)??

Barbados’ seniors continue to make this country proud in the international sports arena, bringing home 81 medals from this year’s Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah.

Team Manager, Rawle Clarke, said the team had surpassed last year’s total of 70 medals, this time capturing 56 gold, 17 silver and eight bronze.

He was speaking to the media last night at the Grantley Adams International Airport shortly after the team arrived home from the United States.

Ainsley Lovell, who is now a life member of the World Senior Games, won six gold medals as well as Pearl Yearwood and Shirley Harper. Jennifer Swanston-Jones copped the best overall medal tally with eight.

"The athletes performed exceptionally well. This is the year you qualify for the World Senior Olympics and there were just over 10, 000 athletes participating. We took part in six disciplines- lawn and table tennis, cycling, archery, track and field and basketball," Mr. Clarke said.

He added that the basketball team had performed very well this year, winning a bronze. "They were in the gold medal hunt but lost [that game] by two points…Archery won six medals while in lawn tennis we got three medals. In cycling, Ronald Harding won a bronze and two gold medals,… We have performed to our maximum and I don’t expect anything different next year," he remarked.

Mr. Clarke, however, is hoping that government will allocate more funds so the senior athletes could be better prepared for next year’s games, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the event.

He added that in the near future, the team may be expanded to include a soccer team.

andre.skeete@barbados.gov.bb

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