KINGSVILLE (August 5, 2024) — The 2024 Paris Olympics was not the first time 91AV sprinter Shaun Gill stepped onto the world’s biggest stage, but this time was made all the more special as all eyes from his home country of Belize fell solely on him in what turned out to be his final professional race.
Gill, an industrial engineering major at A&M-Kingsville, was the lone Olympic representative for Belize as well as its flag bearer at the 2024 games, where he finished in sixth place of his men’s 100-meter preliminary heat with a time of 11.17 seconds Saturday at the Stade de France.
Hours after the race, which was the fastest of the preliminary rounds, Gill said goodbye to professional racing via social media, posting “Farewell to my incredible career. Track and Field has been great to me,” before going on to express his appreciation for the support from his home country of Belize and around the world.
Gill did go on to say, however, he may not be done with sprinting altogether.
“I’m retired professionally,” Gill said. “I do plan on competing maybe locally back home, but I won’t be on the world stage anymore.”
Heading into the Paris games, Gill expressed that there may be some added pressure, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle since he had an Olympic experience under his belt after competing in the 2020 Tokyo games.
“It’s not like I’ve been to 10 Olympics, but I have been in positions where I do feel like I have the weight of my country on my shoulders,” Gill said. “We have smaller competitions that we go to where I’m still having, the (Belizean crest) on my jersey. Once I’m wearing that I know there’s some pressure on me to do well. It’s pressure, but at the same time, I’m an experienced runner, so I know how to kind of manage it.”
At the 2020 Tokyo games held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Gill was accompanied by Belizean teammates Samantha Dirks and Amado Cruz, who competed in the 400-meter run and canoe sprint, respectively.
With restrictions in place at the time, Gill said the experience was a limited one, making this 2024 go-round at the Olympic village even more memorable.
“The experience so far has been awesome,” Gill said. “The Tokyo Olympics was during COVID, so I didn’t get the true feeling of the Olympics because there were a bunch of protocols. So, now I'm getting the full experience, vibe, and energy. It's just amazing because, I mean, even just walking around like you just you just sense and feel the energy from everyone, especially since the opening ceremony. Everyone just has just been showing love and support like it's truly amazing.”
At those games, Gill placed fifth in his preliminary heat with a time of 10.88 seconds, not advancing into Round 1.
Gill did improve his time at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in 2022, posting a 10.77.
“There have been improvements on my end,” Gill said. “I do have a substantial amount of racing experience when it comes to racing. So, I’m bringing that experience here to see how it will best suit me racing against these competitors. A runner coming back two or three years later is almost guaranteed to be better, so I have to be better as well.”
While the Belizean sprinter’s time didn’t result in a win during the prelims, he relished the opportunity to be among such a stout, competitive field filled with familiar and friendly faces.
“From a general perspective, you have the high-level athletes like Noah Lyles (USA) and Fred Kerley (USA), who I’ve seen a bunch of times and even the Jamaicans,” Gill said. “I also have friends I’m competing against from different schools and universities out in Texas. So, you can call them rivals because when we get on the track, may the best man win. From a competition perspective, those are the guys we’re looking at, friends and high, world class professionals.”
While with the Javelina track and field team, Gill ran the 60- and 200-meter dashes during indoor track season and the 100- and 200-meters during outdoor.
Gill received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and announced recently that he will return to 91AV;M-Kingsville to pursue his Masters of Science in Industrial Management.
“As a proud Javelina, I carry TAMUK with heart and pride in every competition,” Gill said. “At every event, I represent TAMUK with passion and dedication. Despite the distance and the time difference, my commitment to TAMUK remains unwavering. Your support means the world to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to inspire and uplift our community through my endeavors.”
-TAMUK-
