Paris, France — Four Virgin Islands athletes made history by competing in the Paris Summer Olympics, which kicked off July 26 and closed on Sunday. The VI athletes were 400-metre hurdler Kyron McMaster, sprinter Adaejah Hodge, sailor Thad Lettsome and sprinter Rikkoi Brathwaite.
Mr. McMaster fell short of the podium when he finished in fifth place in the 400-metre hurdles finals with a season’s best time of 47.79 seconds.
“Kyron gave us all he had, and that’s all you can ask for at the end of the day,” said Mr. McMaster’s coach, Gary Evans. “He went out there and gave us 110 percent and left it on the line, and we’re proud.”
It is the second time Mr. McMaster has made the Olympic finals in the 400-meter hurdles. On Aug. 5, Mr. McMaster cruised to an automatic semifinals qualifier with a time of 49.24 seconds in round one. He has been dealing with an injury all season and has been working with a pain management programme to stay healthy.
“The main objective was to secure the big Q, so once I positioned myself for the first 250 metres into the race, I just kept it and eased it home,” said Mr. McMaster of his first race. “I tried not to aggravate anything; kept my composure and secured the finish.”
Ms. Hodge made her Olympic debut in the 200 metres. The 18-year-old ran her best Olympic time of 22.70 to finish 17th in the semifinals.
“Before the race, I was talking myself to get myself amped up and it seemed to work, because I actually lowered my time,” Ms. Hodge said. “Throughout the race, I just trusted my training and trusted what I’ve been doing leading up to this point. I think I executed my race well. I’m only 18, so I’m looking forward to the next event, which is the U20s in Peru — and dominate there.”
Ms. Hodge hopes to win an Olympic medal some day.
“I know that I can’t overshadow my blessings and my small victories like today, but know that I am not content with this level. I always want to break the ceiling. For a female to bring home the first medal — that’s the goal, ” she said.
She said the experience will help her grow as an athlete.
“It’s very hard to go out into the crowd, everyone screaming,” she said. “So getting comfortable in the situation with all those fans and [to] allow myself to be Adaejah Hodge is something I will need to do.”
In the south of France, Mr. Lettsome placed 38 out of 43 in the Men’s Dinghy ILCA7 off the coast of Marseille.
On Aug. 4, Mr. Lettsome’s event was called off after race eight due to lack of wind.
The highlight of his regatta was a second-place finish in the fourth race on Aug. 2.
“It was absolutely amazing to be able to represent the BVI here at the Olympics and to see what I could do against the best guys in the world at the pinnacle of the sport,” said Mr. Lettsome. “I have lots of good takeaways and lots of good highlights as well. Finishing in second place in that race was a great achievement and something I will never forget, and I hope can serve as an inspiration looking forward.”
Mr. Lettsome is the territory’s first Olympian sailor since 1996.
“Hopefully, I will not be the last sailing Olympian for such a long time again. I say to people back home to just go out and try the thing. You have to start [in order] to get here, so take the chance and go see what sailing is like. Go on Saturday mornings to the yacht club and give it a go.”
‘Incredible’ atmosphere
Mr. Lettsome was accompanied by coach Chris Watters and team leader Tamsin Rand, who described the atmosphere in Marseille as “incredible” as thousands of spectators packed the venue.
“Overall, this event was an amazing experience for Thad,” said Mr. Watters. “He is a better sailor because he was here. The second place in race four will always be the highlight of this event, and the efforts that he has put in over the last three or four months have really shown through in that spot. Everyone is super proud. He has done a great job, and we look forward to more.”
Ms. Rand, who is the administrator at the Royal BVI Yacht Club, has seen Mr. Lettsome progress from a young age.
“I am super proud of Thad’s achievements this week,” said Ms. Rand. “He has a very bright future in sailing and is a true inspiration for our youth sailors at home. The next generation of BVI Olympic sailors have been glued to Thad’s races and have witnessed history in action.”
Mr. Lettsome and Ms. Hodge were the VI’s flagbearers at the historic opening ceremony along the River Seine on July 26.
On Sunday during the closing ceremony at Stade de France, Mr. Brathwaite was the flagbearer for the VI. He, too, made his Olympic debut in Paris in the 100 metres.
The sprinter made it to the semifinals where he finished with a time of 10:15 seconds for a non-advancing eighth place on Aug. 4.
“Coming out of the warm-up, everything was firing right. I had everything going. I was ready, waited a while in the call room before heading into the race. When the gun fired, I think I got out first,” Mr. Brathwaite said. “As the race progressed, I had a lot of cramps everywhere at that point, but still pursued the race and finished with a 10.15. It isn’t how I wanted to end the season, but it is what it is, and I’ll come back stronger.”
Mr. Brathwaite faced powerhouse sprinters Noah Lyles of the United States and Oblique Seville, of Jamaica, in the semifinal.
“I don’t focus on anyone at the point of lining up,” he said. “I don’t worry about nobody else; I just worry about how my execution of the race will unfold.”
He said the games were an unforgettable experience.
“When I looked up, I noticed that the stadium goes to the heavens — it’s huge, and I thought, ‘This is it. This is what I live for. This is what I want,’” Mr. Brathwaite said. “It’s hard to explain the immensity, the crowd and intensity of it all.”
Mr. Brathwaite became the first VI male to advance to the 100-metre semifinals at an Olympic Games when he ran a qualifying time of 10.13 seconds in round one for third place on Aug. 3.
The men’s 100-metres was won by Mr. Lyles in a hotly contested finals on Aug. 4 with a personal best time of 9.79 seconds, narrowly edging out Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second.
BVI Olympic Committee President Ephraim Penn said he expects to see more of Mr. Brathwaite at future Olympic Games.
“This was a great event to watch, and the enormity of Rikkoi’s achievement was made all the more obvious as we observed him compete fearlessly against the world’s’ current leading 100-metre sprinters,” said Mr. Penn.
“This is Rikkoi’s first Olympics, and we are looking forward to seeing him continue his journey to success at Los Angeles 2028.”
Approximately 10,500 participants from more than 200 Olympic delegations competed in 32 Olympic sports at the Paris 2024 Summer Games.