Team Did Well - Dyke

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Michael Dyke, head coach of Jamaica's World Junior Championships team, said he was very proud of the athletes' performance despite the many problems they faced during the one-week competition, which ended on Sunday in Barcelona, Spain.

The Jamaicans finished the championships with five medals - two gold, two silver and one bronze. This marked the country's eighth best ever showing at the championships, as they finished seventh in the medal standings and ninth overall on the points table with 59.

"I think that the team did well based on the circumstances," said Dyke after the team's arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday.

"We would have loved to have won more medals, but I think that they did their best based on the challenges that we underwent in Barcelona, Spain," said Dyke, who is also the coach of reigning girls champs winners Edwin Allen High.

Problems adjusting

Dyke pointed out that the Jamaican athletes had problems adjusting to the food, while some were a bit tired after participating at the CAC Games just days prior to the start of the World Junior Championships.

"We had difficulty with them eating properly because of not being accustomed to those sort of foods, and it took some time for them to settle down and really find food to eat," Dyke said.

He added: "One of the other challenges is that persons had to leave from El Salvador (CAC) the following day to travel to Spain, which was really a big challenge for some of them. They were somewhat tired and as result of this a number came down with flu-like symptoms."