Island athletes take to the track

Wall, Cudmore compete in divisioning events

During the first day of the 2018 Special Olympics Summer Games, there were plenty of athletics events.

Of all the provinces participating on Wednesday, Prince Edward Island had two people representing its provincial team.

But those team members – Teri Cudmore of Charlottetown and Jeremy Wall of Summerside – are undaunted by the odds.

While Cudmore spent her first day of the games at running events, Jeremy was in the running long jump event, finding himself impressed with his performance in the oppressive August heat that Wednesday entailed.

“It’s tough to be the only person in the division – it’d be good to have more people,” Wall said. “The experience is nice, though.”

Wall was one of many participating in late-afternoon divisioning events. When he took a look at the distance of his jumps, he noted he was not quite as satisfied with the results as he’d like to have been, alluding to doing better in Halifax, in the qualifiers.

“I’d like to have gotten…numbers like the ones I got in Halifax, but I don’t think I did too badly,” Wall said. “The first jump wasn’t my best, but with the second jump I got back my mojo.”

Wall added that he hopes that mojo is there for other events in which he is participating in the games, which include the 5,000metre race, the 3,000-metre race and shot put – followed by the long jump finals.

“I hope to bring a medal back – that’s the goal,” Wall said.

Wall’s coach Jodi Harper of Brackley praised his hard work, noting that his drive and determination always results in a superb athletic performance at the track.

Harper was quick to shake her head, when asked if she is concerned that other provinces are more heavily represented in the track events, noting that she believes Cudmore and Wall are in phenomenal shape, as a result of thorough, dedicated training.

“I’m used to this. I’ve been coaching since 2006, so we’ve been coming to lots of national games. I enjoy it. I love every

minute of it,” Harper said. Cudmore had a big day as she

qualified for the finals in all three events she competed in Wednesday.

They are the 100 metres, 200 metres and standing long jump.

Jeremy Wall of Team Prince Edward Island catches some serious air in the men’s running long jump divisioning event. Wall was the sole member representing Team P.E.I. in the running long jump.