Triple jump gold ‘for granny’

FOR Barbados’ double CARIFTA Games’ triple jump gold medallist Jonathan Miller, there is nothing like a grandmother’s love and care. Vera Roach, of Clapham, St Michael, may not be alive, but 18-year-old Miller still has fond memories of the role she played in his development.

As a result, he has dedicated his gold medal to her memory for the second consecutive year. After capturing Barbados’ third gold medal at the 48th Games at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex here during Monday’s short morning session, Miller was again overcome with emotion.

 “I really want to dedicate this to her. Same as last year, I am dedicating this to her because she was like, this is her for me. Every time I went down that runway. . . . I really wanted to do this for her and make my country proud again,” Miller told NATION SPORT in an interview inside the venue after the event.

“The majority of my primary school days [at Luther Thorne Memorial], I would actually go by her house and she would take care of me for the majority of the evening because my mother was at work so she really took a large part in my development as a young child,” the teenager noted as he recalled his time with Roach, who died last year.

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