Jorel Bellafonte is the latest Cayman Islands track and field athlete to sign on to an American school.
The distance runner received a track scholarship from Clemson University in South Carolina. Bellafonte recently signed a National Letter of Intent to run with the Tigers men’s track team. The National Collegiate Athletic Association Division One school, which competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, has a history of signing Caymanian talent, as the Tigers previously featured Cydonie Mothersill-Stephens, who was inducted into the school’s athletics hall of fame, and former runner Robert Ibeh.
Bellafonte said he had been recruited for some time.
“Clemson was recruiting me from last year April during CARIFTA,” Bellafonte said. “I chose Clemson because the coach was recommended from my high school coach and he’s someone that I know and that I trust. So I have faith in his program.
“I’m looking forward to winning several NCAA titles, qualifying for the world championships next year, the World University Games and then taking it from there. The Olympics are two years from now and I’d like to go there.”
Bellafonte is a Cayman native who went to high school in Jamaica and ran track for the Calabar track team, a perennial contender based in Kingston.
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