Tracey, Bailey-Cole spread Christmas cheer
World Championships 400 metres hurdles bronze medallist Ristananna Tracey will join up with her partner Kemar Bailey-Cole, the Commonwealth Games 100m champion, to give back to the less fortunate through a Christmas treat set for today.
Known as the Rista and Bailey-Cole Foundation, the couple will be pooling their efforts to bring cheers to wards of the St Monica’s Home in Chapelton, Clarendon.
Speaking to The STAR yesterday, Tracey noted that she has always wanted to contribute and give back to the society, pointing to her success at this summer’s World Championships in London as the perfect springboard for her ambitions of benevolence.
“Actually, I always wanted to help the less fortunate. My success at the World Championships was okay, and I see this as a start to start a foundation”, Tracey said.
“When I returned home from the World Championships, I stopped at the St Monica’s Home in Clarendon as I wanted to do so in the parish where I went to school. After speaking to the house mother, I was convinced to help, as she told me that her dream was to see someone helping like she has seen on television. I told her that her wish would have been granted,” added Tracey, who attended Edwin Allen High School, which is also located in Clarendon.
PERSONAL BEST
Opened in 1953, the St Monica’s Home cares for up to 24 children, aged four and 18, in a co-ed structure.
Tracey won bronze in London after racing to a personal best 53.74 seconds to become the third Jamaican woman to medal in the event on the global stage – the other two being Deon Hemmings and Melaine Walker.
Bailey-Cole missed the World Championships due to injury but is seen as one of the island’s top sprinters. He owns several sub-10 seconds times in the 100m and also won the event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Both athletes share a long-standing relationship.