By The Star Staff
The track at the Olympic stadium in France will be filled with Puerto Ricans with the participation of decathlete Ayden Owens Delerme, hammer thrower Jerome Vega and sprinter Gladymar Torres, all debutants at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
It is no secret that Owens Delerme is one of the figures hoping to give Puerto Rico its first medal in this edition of the Olympic Games. He competes Friday and Saturday. Carlos Guzmán, the technical director of the Puerto Rican Track & Field Federation, confirmed that Owens Delerme is among the favorites in the competition.
“According to the experts, he is one of the five athletes who should have a chance at medals and with a lot of potential to be on the medal table,” Guzmán said.
Owens Delerme qualified directly for the Olympic Games with 8,732 points at a decathlon in California, setting the national record for Puerto Rico. In 2022, he finished in fourth place at the world championships in Eugene, Oregon with 8,532 points.
The competition includes world record holder and two-time Olympic runner-up Kevin Mayer of France, Olympic champion and record holder Damian Warner of Canada, and other outstanding athletes such as German Leo Neugebauer, Estonian Johannes Erm and Granada’s Lindon Victor.
“Everything is in top condition,” Owens Delerme said of Owens Delerme’s physical and mental health. “He is concentrated, focused and motivated.”
The decathlon has 23 participants who will compete in 10 events, and at the end of the second day the winner will be determined by total points. Friday they will compete in the 100 meters, long jump and shot put between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. Puerto Rico time (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Paris). Four hours later, the athletes will return for the high jump and 400-meter dash events.
“The scores on the first day of competition are spectacular,” Guzmán said of Owens Delerme’s expected performance in the first phase of the event. “Tomorrow (Friday), he should finish in the top spots.”
On Saturday, the events will be the 110-meter hurdles, discus throw and pole vault. After the break, the athletes will return for the javelin throw and 1,500 meters, thus concluding the competition.
Jerome Vega will compete in the Group B preliminary in the hammer throw at 5:35 a.m. PR time (11:35 a.m. in Paris).
“The best 12 marks compete in Jerome’s competition,” Guzmán noted, adding that Vega is seeded with a best mark of 75.98 meter, 40th place in the international rankings.
Gladymar Torres will compete in the 100-meter dash on the strength of her best mark of 11.20 seconds, which is the national record. The event will have two preliminary round sections, at 4 a.m. and 5:50 a.m. PR time (10 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. in Paris). Qualification in the first round will be for the first three runners in each series and the five fastest times.
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