Dominican-style weather delights Olympic hopefuls training in Surrey

Surrey County Council's Cabinet Member for Community Services and the 2012 Games Denise Saliagopoulos with runner Erison Hurtault and high jumper Brendan Williams.

Surrey, United Kingdom (TDN) — Dominican Olympic hopefuls trained in Surrey this week as part of their preparations for the 2012 Games and they were delighted the weather has been “just like it is” on the Caribbean island.

High jumper Brendan Williams and 400m runner Erison Hurtault spent the week at Spectrum in Guildford and spoke highly of the facilities the venue has to offer.

Brendan Williams, 23, from Roseau, said: “The facilities here are great and I’ve really enjoyed staying in Surrey. We got to explore the county this week and it’s a really beautiful place. The weather has been just like it is at home.”

According to Denise Saliagopoulos, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services and the 2012 Games “Dominica is one of a number of nations signed up to use Surrey’s excellent sporting facilities to train their athletes for next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We’ve been working hard to bring teams here. We’ve already had Australian and Croatian athletes training in Surrey and there are more to come including teams from Nigeria, China and Antigua and Barbuda.”

Rob Price, Marketing Manager at Spectrum, said: “These two athletes have been a credit to their country. They have been a joy to have around. We are delighted that they have decided to return in March and then again in the run up to the Olympics. I think that once again proves the quality of the world class facilities here at Spectrum.”