Junior sprinter Steina Fleming (British Virgin Islands) (© Terry Finistere)
like many young female sprinters - looks up to Marion Jones. “She is the bomb!” exclaims Fleming. The world’s fastest woman is a real inspiration to the teenager from the British Virgin Islands, especially since the two now have a little bit in common.
Like Marion, Steina took a break from track & field, not to have a baby, but to continue her high school studies. A talented athlete in middle school, Steina dropped out of the sport in the late nineties, giving priority to her high school education instead. Now, though, she’s back, combining athletics and her pursuit of an associate degree in accounting at H. Lavity Stout Community College in Tortola, the capital of the BVI.
Steina came back after speaking to two of the most influential people in her life: coach and HLSCC lecturer, Dean Greenaway, and her mother. Her return to the track in 2003 was an unmitigated success. In addition to winning junior titles in the BVI, the then 18-year-old had good results in St. Lucia and Grenada.
Later this year, Steina is expected to make the BVI team for the World Junior Championships in Athletics, in Grosseto, Italy. She recognizes that her personal-best marks (12.4 seconds in Tortola, 25.2 seconds in Grenada) could be much better, but for that she blames her lengthy layoff.
My biggest disappointment was taking a three-year break to start over,” she says. “Because I know I would have been better than I am now. To get to the next level, I have to train frequently, work harder and develop my endurance.”
She laughs when asked what makes her stand out in the BVI. After a pause for thought, she replies that her quiet demeanour and her aggressiveness on the track are her strongest attributes, along with a determination to succeed and her ability to remain focused. “I don't brag,” she asserts. “I just perform."
Along with Greenaway, Steina is preparing for university. She’s hoping to go on with her studies in accounting at a school in the United States later this year, after her Italian adventure, and after the Central American and Caribbean Junior Track & Field Championships in Mexico. Already, she’s made plans for what she’ll do after college: Steina intends to come back to the BVI and open an accounting firm.
Already Steina has big shoes to fill. Tahesia Harrigan is the best sprinter from the multi-island nation (the BVI comprises 36 islands in the northern Caribbean; 16 of the islands are inhabited). She is enrolled at a Division 1 school in the US, and she has made the IAAF performance list for the women’s 100m. It’s something to look forward to, but in time Steina believes everything will go her way.
Steina Fleming
DOB: 8 April 1985
100m: 12.4 (3.4.04, Tortola)
200m: 25.2 (19.3.04, St. George’s)
Terry finisterre www.OECSAthlete.com for the IAAF
