Saint Vincent and The Grenadines at The 2008 Summer Olympics - Athletics

Athletics

The athletes competing on behalf of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines competed in track and field. Kineke Alexander participated in the women's 400 m sprint, while Jared Lewis took part in the men's 100 m sprint. Neither medaled or advanced to subsequent rounds.

Men

Mississauga Track and Field Club member Jared Lewis qualified for the men’s 100 m sprint. At the Beijing Olympics, the first round of Lewis’ event took place on 14 August. Lewis was placed in Heat 3, competing against athletes such as Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson, who would later win silver in the event. Lewis ran his event in 11.00 seconds, ranking seventh among of eight competitors, 0.29 seconds ahead of Kiribati’s Rabangaki Nawai and 0.54 seconds slower than Indonesia’s Suryo Agung Wibowo. Thompson, who took first place in the heat, was 0.76 seconds faster than Lewis. Overall, Lewis tied Danny D'Souza of the Seychelles for 63rd place out of 80 people and did not advance to the second round, which took place on the same day.

Women

University of Iowa student Kineke Alexander qualified for the 400 m sprint, an event in which she earned eight all-American honors during college competitions. Her participation in the Beijing Olympics marked her Olympic debut. At the Games Alexander competed in the first round of the event on 16 August. She was placed in Heat 6 and ranked fourth, completing the race in 52.87 seconds. She was 0.01 seconds faster than Grenada's Trish Bartholomew (5th place), 0.10 seconds slower than Sudan's Nawal El Jack (3rd place), and 1.35 seconds slower than heat leader Novelene Williams of Jamaica. Overall, in the first round, Alexander ranked 32 out of 50 competitors, finishing just ahead of Bartholomew and India's Mandeep Kaur and just behind Poland's Monika Bejnar. The overall round one leader, the United States' Sanya Richards, ran 2.33 seconds faster than Alexander. Alexander did not advance to the semifinal round, as she was neither in the top three places in her given heat nor in the top three fastest of those who did fall below third place in their heats.