JAAA to bolster ‘Lima Invasion’ with strong outfit

Track and field athletics will be looking to add much power and strength to the Jamaica Olympic Association's (JOA) 'Lima Invasion', when the country participates in the 2019 Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru.

The JOA signalled its intention to deliver hallmark performances at the sporting showcase of the Americas at Tuesday's official launch of 'Lima Invasion' at Up Park Camp in Kingston.

"In the 'Invasion', we will not only rely on our physical sense and emotional sensibility, but on the spirit that compels any equipped soldier, any well-conditioned athlete to face the odds. That spirit, which makes the ordinary extraordinary, which makes value invaluable, and which makes the present historic ... is the essence of

the Invasion of which we speak," JOA president Christopher Samuda said.

Dr Warren Blake, the President of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, said they will be looking to the sports' heavyweights to champion that bid at the July 26-August 11 Games.

"We're looking to send a strong team to Lima so that we can perform to the usual high standards," said Dr Blake.

FIELD EVENTS

"Now we also have athletes in not just the running events; we have some strong athletes in the field events as well, so we're set to do even better than we've done in the past," Blake added.

Jamaica has won medals at every Pan Am Games since it began competing in 1951, racking up a record 14 in 1959. Ryan Foster, the JOA's CEO, said they are looking to exceed those numbers.

GOALS

"When we arrive in Lima, it is our goal to surpass the records set in previous years. We hope to have the largest contingent participating in the games. We intend to exceed the record of having 10 sports represented at the games, and we are desirous of coming away with more than the 14 medals we earned in 1959," Foster said. "We intend to obliterate every record, to take Lima by storm."

Along with 'Invasion Lima', the JOA has also announced a new partnership with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), from which national sporting associations are likely to benefit from training facilities and expert coaching.

Blake praised the initiative, saying: "The synergies between the JDF and JOA will really help a lot of the smaller sports in terms of giving athletes an avenue. You could also explore the possibilities that some athletes could become full-time members of the JDF and be able to train on a full-time basis without really worrying where the income is coming from."