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Pan American Games
Harrigan Making Run For a Medal Tonight
By Dean Greenaway
Jul 23, 2007, 23:35

U.S. Virgin Islands' Laverne Jones, right, beats the BVI's Tahesia Harrigan out of the blocks in the quarter final rounds, before Harrigan came back to win in 11.21 seconds. Photo: Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil—Every step sprinter Tahesia Harrigan took in the rounds and semifinals of the 100 meters, when the track and field segment opened Monday during the 15^th Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she was making British Virgin Islands sporting history.

She became the first woman to compete in athletics in the territory’s 24-year history of participating in these Continental games; she became the first to win a heat when she race to the line in 11.21 seconds to grab heat three. She then went a step further, becoming the territory’s first semi-finalist when she placed third in the second semifinal in 11.28 seconds. Tonight, she becomes the first to compete for a medal when she faces the starter’s gun at 5:40 p.m. Virgin Islands time.

Harrigan joins U.S. Virgin Islands’ Laverne Jones and St. Kitts’ Virgil Hodge in the finals, becoming the first three female Leeward Islands athletes to accomplish the feat.

“In the preliminaries, basically, she didn’t react, didn’t really push through the drive phase,” Harrigan’s coach Sidney Cartwright observed. “Basically, the same thing happened again (in the semis). She reacted, but is not pushing as well as she has done in the past, so she’s not covering distances to put her where she needs to be.”

St. Croix's Lavern Jones, right, still leads the BVI's Tahesia Harrigan, about 40 meters into the race, with Trinidad and Tobago's Ayana Hutchinson, trailing. Photo: Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

Harrigan agreed with Cartwright’s assessment, adding that in the semis, she was rushing things a bit in the push phase of her drive. “Health wise I’m Ok, I only have a little nagging foot injury that’s kind of bugging me, but overall, I can’t complain of anything,” she said. “Mentally, I just have to be tough, go out there thinking that you can win and compete against anyone of these girls. You have been training really hard all season and know what you are capable of. So now, it’s to just go out there, execute and being confident in your abilities.”

Technically, Cartwright says he likes what he sees and thinks she just need to execute to be on the podium tonight. “If she executes, she will be on the podium,” he believes. “It’s all about execution. We have nothing to loose but all to gain, and, she has to run like that. She has to lay it on the line and just go after that medal. And it will happen.”

Head coach Dag Samuels said once she correct some things, she’ll be on the podium. “She has to run like a bat out of hell, really,” Samuels noted. “The girls that she’s running against, they are not playing. We have about five girls that can get the three medals. Hopefully, we’ll be one of the three.”