Cayman’s fastest man is running for Polish glory.
Kemar Hyman will be representing the Cayman Islands in the men’s 60 meter sprint at the 15th International Association of Athletics Federation World Indoor Championships. The competition takes place in Sopot, Poland, March 7 to 10. The first of the 60m event is on Friday, March 7, at 6:35 p.m. Poland time (10:35 a.m. Cayman time) with the semifinals on Saturday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. Cayman time) and the finals later that day at 9 p.m. (1 p.m. Cayman time).
Hyman, 24, said he is confident heading into the Poland meet.
“I am excited to represent Cayman at this prestigious event,” Hyman said. “I will be running against some of the best in the world.”
Hyman has been training in Birmingham, England, and posted a time of 6.71 seconds in the 60m at last month’s British Athletics Grand Prix, finishing sixth in his heat. While it was his second-fastest time of the year, it was not good enough to qualify him for the finals. Jamaica’s Nesta Carter and St. Kitts and Nevis’s Kim Collins were among the top finishers at that event. Hyman’s best time of the year was 6.69 seconds, which he ran in late January. Through mid-February, it was the 14th-best time in the Caribbean and Central America.
Based on his times and current form, Hyman appears to have successfully distanced himself from his showing at the 2012 London Olympics. After qualifying for the 100m semis, he suffered an abdomen strain in the warm-up and pulled out.
It should be noted, however, that in 2013 Hyman was disqualified in his heat of the 100m event – for a false start – at the world championships in Moscow.
Hyman is one of Cayman’s highest paid athletes, earning $43,901, according to budget documents marked for the 2013-2014 fiscal year tabled in the Legislative Assembly, as part of local government’s Elite Athlete program.
Cayman Islands Athletics Association President Dalton Watler expressed his support for Hyman, who is aiming for his second Olympic showing at the 2016 Rio de Janiero Games.
“We are very proud of Kemar’s accomplishments and we wish him the best of luck at this upcoming event,” Watler said.
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