Blackett: Bajans ready »
Barbadian sprinters Andrew Hinds, Ryan Brathwaite and Jade Bailey
The three-member Barbados track and field team are settled and ready for action, says Olympian and coach Andrea Blackett.
"I'm very excited about the upcoming Games and getting started on the 15th. We have been practising every day since we arrived on Wednesday and training is going well," Blackett said yesterday.
"Everybody's legs are starting to get back life after the long trip, but it is going well."
The 32-year-old Blackett, a three-time Olympian who competed at the last Olympiad in Athens in 2004, said the transition from athlete to coach had not hindered the team's preparation for the Games.
"It's been going well. I've been familiar with the athletes from previous trips so the transition has been going well," said Blackett.
"I'm very excited for this opportunity and I'm looking forward to things getting started and our performing well."
She said all three athletes were in good shape and were entering the Games in the best of physical health.
"[There have been] no injuries so far. Let's hope we can keep it that way. We are doing only short, technical training, nothing that should cause injuries," Blackett said.
In the lead-up to the Games, there had been much debate on the air quality in China, due to problems with smog.
Blackett said, however, that the athletes were coping with this situation.
"They are adjusting well, hanging in there. The smog will be the same for everyone, so we will focus on conditions that we can control and they will compete to their best," she said. (CMC)
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