MONTEGO BAY, St James – Former Cornwall College sprinter Ackeem Gordon was named Student Athlete of the Week at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), despite the absence of sporting events at the university due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gordon, who was named Rookie of the Year across all sporting disciplines at the South Texas school, and was also named to the Spring Athletics Director Honor Roll, said he was not surprised, but was “ just wondering when they would do it for me”, after an outstanding freshman year.

UTRGV is part of the Western Athletics Conference (WAC) that voted to cancel or postpone all sporting events until at least January because of COVID-19, but the university has continued to highlight outstanding athletes from last season.

Gordon, who is studying entrepreneurship and innovation, says he is preparing for the indoor track season set to get underway in January and expects to improve on what he did last year when he set the new programme record of 6.85 seconds in the 60m dash, noting that he has seven of the top 10 times ever run at the school.

The Western Champs double Class 3 sprint gold medallist said despite disruption to his training, he was ahead of where he was last year. “Training is going well despite all the setbacks we had to endure. We were out on a month’s hold because some of the athletes tested positive for the [corona]virus, but we’ve bounced back since then. I am honestly in a better shape than I was last year, things are flowing smoother, and I’m looking more efficient,” he said confidently.

In the classroom, he said, while he was doing well, he did not want to get comfortable.

“When someone is satisfied, they become complacent. So, I am not satisfied and will continue to work harder to better my grades,” he stressed.