Dominique Maloney, left, and Leniece Lewis, will make their Pan Am Games debut today Photo: Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil—The British Virgin Islands will have a record three women in action during today’s third day of action at the 15th Pan American, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when Dominique Maloney and Leniece Lewis, join Tahesia Harrigan in action this afternoon.

For Maloney who will run the 400 meters at 5:22 p.m., the games has been an experience filled with numerous learning opportunities on which she will build her career. Besides what goes on in the athletes village, Maloney has been paying particular attention to the training habits of other athletes. She has even been surprised by the size of some of them.

“I was saying my shoulders are getting so big, but when I came here, I saw that the other girls are so big and couldn’t help but say, my turn is next and I can’t wait to get big,” she stated. “I realize I have to be a lot stronger.”

Maloney said unlike on Tortola where they might sit around before they get going, athletes here come to the track and begin doing what they have to do. “On Tortola, after a workout, we will sit down or just go home,” she noted. “Every time a workout is finished here for the other athletes, they warm down, then ice their legs to get it back to where it was before. All of this has motivated me more to try my best and not worry about the size of the girls, what they do, but rather, what I have to do.”

For Lewis who will run the 100 meter Hurdles 4:57 p.m., the games too are a new experience, even though she has been exposed to some games experience as a participant in the 2004 Olympic Youth Camp, in Athens, Greece. Lewis ran her first hurdle race in March and last week in El Salvador, chopped her time down to 14.90 seconds.

“I had to work on my trail leg in getting it up more, because before, it was lagging and I wasn’t getting my speed over the hurdles,” Lewis who has totally changed her running form noted. “I’m now getting my down on the ground and the speed is coming. That’s the major difference.”