[dropcap]A[/dropcap] remarkable achievement. This has been one of her best years, if not her best year. Three major championships. Winning first of all at the Commonwealth Games in April, following that up with CAC in Colombia and now another gold medal at NACAC [North American, Central American and Caribbean] championships in Toronto, Canada.”
I guess just about everybody in St Lucia in fact the whole region knows who Gregory Dixon referred to in the opening paragraph. Yes the one and only Levern Spencer who at 34 shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, Dixon who is Levern’s Manager and has monitored her career from amateur to professional, agreed that she continues defying the odds and the age factor.
Her recent gold medal performance at NACAC is monumental. Dixon pointed out that Spencer is the only one in the history of the NACAC championship, to have won gold medals at all three additions of the competition.
When asked how do you account for Spencer’s success when some athletes her age have thrown in the towel. He replied: “I think Levern is one of these athletes, where maybe age is just a number for her. She is well disciplined, trains hard and I suppose her lifestyle contributes to her longevity in the sense she is not a party kind, extremely religious, is very serious and gets as much sleep as anybody I can think of. She’s focused, has her own goals and objectives. I think those things all contribute to her success even in her later years so to speak.”
No doubt about it, Spencer credentials puts her in a class of her own in this country and further afield. She is presently ranked among the top 10 in the world. However despite her accomplishments there is still something missing. I asked Dixon if somewhere in the back of her mind, she’s thinks of one day coming home with the elusive Olympic medal.
He quickly corrected me! “Well it’s not in the back of her mind David, it’s in the front of her mind. Of course it is really the big thing. She’s gone to the Olympics [on three occasions] has not medaled and it’s almost as though she’s missing out on something. Having said so, when you look at Levern’s achievements at the last Olympics, not winning a medal but creating history, by having a St Lucian who actually qualify for the finals where she placed sixth.”
He continued: “Of course we want to win a medal at the next Olympics, but if it does not happen, maybe somebody else after seeing that she got that close might realize after all if a St Lucian can come that close maybe I can do it.”
What happens to Spencer when retires is a big concern for Dixon. He told me, “My greatest fear is that when Levern retires, she may be relegated to just another St Lucian who represented the country and has now retired. Hope not. I hope that the powers at be take into account what she has contributed to do in the sport of track and field and St Lucia as a nation. Twenty consecutive years of national representation, medaling every year for the last 20 years, 14 times Sportswoman of the Year, things that maybe other athletes can only dream of. I would hate to see her retire and then have to find a job trying to make ends meet and starting from scratch. I am hoping that the powers that be and we are having talks in that regard, I hope sooner not later there will be some official announcement from the government concerning what will be done for her.”
What’s next for St Lucia’s high jump queen? Spencer has two more competitions before the end of the season. On August 31 she competes in the Diamond League followed by the Continental Cup September 8-9.
