Spencer qualifies for Summer Olympics

St Lucia’s world class high jumper Levern Donaline Spencer jumpstarted her 2011 season on an impressive note, by clearing the Olympic qualifying mark of 1.92 metres (m) to place second at a meet in Europe on Thursday.
Spencer, who opted out of this year’s indoor season between January and March and made a deliberate late start to the outdoor season, was at the time competing at the prestigious Samsung Diamond league in Rome, Italy.
She and was up against a field which included some of the world’s best such as: Spain’s number one Ruth Beithia, Sweden’s number one Emma Green, France’s number one Melanie Melfort, Ukraine’s number one Vita Styopina, and the world’s number one for the last few years, Blanka Vlasic of Croatia who won the event with a clearance of 1.95 m on her second attempt.
Spencer who started the competition at 1.85 m, when most of the others started at 1.80m, had a first time clearance at that height. She went on to clear 1.89 m and 1.92 m also on her first attempt to join world champion Vlasic, as the only two jumpers out of the field of nine to have a perfect sheet up to that mark before she missed at 1.95 m.
The prolific St Lucian high jumper who had already qualified for this year’s World Championships set for Daugu, South Korea, in August has now secured her ticket to next year’s Summer Olympics as St Lucias’s first and only qualifier to date.
This first jump for the season has immediately placed Spencer who ended last season with a personal best of 1.98 m and ranked number seven in the world, in the top ten world list for 2011.
The sensational high jumper will again be in action on Sunday, in Hengelo, Holland, as she continues her first European tour for 2011.