KIM RETAINS # 1 IN THE WORLD 100, AMONG THREE OECS ATHLETES IN YEAR-END RANKINGS
Wednesday, December 17 2003

St. Kitts and Nevis Sprint King, Ambassador Kim Collins is among three athletes from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States making the year-end world rankings released by the International Association of Athletics Federations on Tuesday.

Two of the three are in the top ten for their respective events, and in the top 100 overall.

Commonwealth and World champion Kittitian Kim Collins remains the top-rated competitor in the men's 100m.

The 27-year-old Monkey Hill-born sprinter has compiled a total of 1347 points for the year, just four points ahead of American Justin Gatlin, but well ahead of such luminaries as Bernard Williams (USA), Dwain Chambers (Great Britain) and Maurice Greene (USA).

The next highest rated Caribbean sprinter is Trinidad & Tobago teenager Darrel Brown, who is tenth.

Grenada's Alleyne Francique, meanwhile, is fifth in the men's 400m. Like Kim, he is 27 years old, and this year he made his second consecutive World Championships final. Alleyne has 1299 points and is the second highest rated Caribbean quarter-miler, with Jamaica's Michael Blackwood third on 1321 points.

Overall, Kim is rated 36th in the world. Alleyne is 85th.

Meanwhile, Natasha Mayers of St. Vincent & the Grenadines is the only OECS woman to make the top 100 in a given event.

Born in 1979, the University of Southern California student is rated 45th in the women's 100m, with a total of 1166 points.