Alex Pascal is in focus again as he prepares for another major athletics event.
The Pease Bay native is taking part in the fourth Commonwealth Youth Games 7-13 September. Taking place in the British dependency of Isle of Man, Pascal will compete in the javelin event for his age group.
Pascal, 16, intends to compete with a deep sense of pride at the National Sports Centre in Douglas.
“It feels good to represent Cayman and be involved in track and go away like this,” Pascal said. “Not anyone can pick up a javelin and do what I’m doing, wearing Cayman colours.
“Anyone can run but not anyone can throw a javelin. I train as hard if not harder than runners. Five days a week I’m at the track and I go to the gym a few days of the week.”
These days Pascal, who turns 17 in October, can be found in between the Truman Bodden Sports Complex and Body Sculptor fitness centre in George Town. Monitoring his progress at the track is technical director for Cayman athletics Kenrick Williams, who first spotted the young man’s potential roughly a year ago (just prior to the 2010 CARIFTA Games). In the gym he is under the watchful eyes of Body Sculptor owner Ernest Ebanks and trainer Verse ‘Bruce’ Mangatam.
Taking him to and fro is dad Richard Pascal. Richard has strong links to sports, having been a notable cyclist years ago and he has raced cars in his spare time. He states his son is benefitting from his example.
“I’ve been a top athlete through cycling and I know what it takes to be number one,” Richard said. “Alex is picking up on that as I have taken past experiences and shared them with him. To me any sport requires a lot of dedication and I’ve been there. I hope he can pass that on to other kids.
“Keeping up with him is a lot. But parents got to be involved with their kids. I find value in that. I grew up in Bodden Town though I’m originally from Belize. My dad wasn’t there (for me) and I knew what I was lacking at that time. As long as Alex does his part I’ll do my part. Hopefully it pays off.”
Pascal is not the only local athlete competing next week. Joining him will be swimmers Geoffrey Butler and Tori Flowers along with gymnast Lauren Hill. Butler and Flowers will compete at the swimming pool of the Douglas National Sports Centre while Hill is slated to be in the Manx Gymnastics Centre of Excellence. All are slated to face athletes from 68 other commonwealth nations.
For Pascal the journey to Isle of Wight is the latest move in a busy summer. First he competed at the annual Miami Classic in June (nabbing gold). From there came the International Association of Athletics Federations World Youth championship for track and field in France back in July. That same month Pascal took part in the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Miramar, Florida (he earned a personal best, a ninth place finish and kudos as the second-ranked hurler in the Caribbean for his age group).
Regardless of his performance this time around, Pascal states his focus will be on self-improvement on and off the track.
“Right now I’m doing an associate degree for two years. After that I’ll be 18 and I hope to get a scholarship to go overseas to get more certifications to be an engineer.
“I want to be an electrical engineer. I can’t keep still in the classroom and I love practical stuff. Math and electrical studies are my best subjects and I’m strong in them. I know that an outside job is better for me.
“My life is centred around school and track. If I got homework or a test I go home and study or bring the work to the track with me and then train later on.
“I see myself going pro. I want to be like Usain Bolt but with the javelin. I really want to break the world record. Its 98m now and I still have a ways to go.”
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