St. George’s, January 24, 2013 – Grenada Olympic Committee (GOC) officials say preparations are in place to honour the nation’s sports personalities.
An awards’ ceremony to name the top sportsman and sportswoman for 2012 will be held Saturday, January 26, at the Grenada Grand Beach Resort in Grand Anse, St. George’s.
The keynote speaker will be Pauline Davis-Thompson, a former Bahamian Olympic gold medalist.
“It’s going to be grand,’’ GOC general secretary, Veda Bruno-Victor, said in reference to Saturday’s event.
Out of a field of 25 award nominees – 14 men and 11 women – three represented Grenada at last year’s Olympic Games in London, England.
The field is led by Kirani James, the Olympic 400 meter winner. His gold at the Games was Grenada’s first ever Olympic medal.
James is vying for his fourth consecutive GOC Athlete of the Year award.
The 20-year-old student athlete, who is also the reigning 400 meter World Champion, was Grenada’s male Athlete of the Year in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
His challengers for this year’s top prize include swimmer Esau Simpson.
Simpson, 22, is a student at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
He set a personal best time of 53.26 seconds in the 100 meter freestyle at the London Olympics.
Neisha Bernard-Thomas is one of the leading candidates for the female sports personality of 2012.
She, too, was at the Games in London, reaching the semifinals of the 800 meters in 2.00.68 minutes.
Her personal best is 2:00.09 minutes, achieved at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Bernard-Thomas, a 32-year-old former Louisiana State University student, holds the records for Grenadian women in the 800 and 1500 meters.