Barbados Sprinter Mario Burke Joins MVP Club in Jamaica, Eyes World Athletics Championships Qualification

Three-time Barbados national men’s 100m champion Mario Burke is making a significant career move, joining the MVP club in Jamaica. The Tokyo 2020 Olympian confirmed over the weekend that he would be joining the group that helped develop the likes of Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

“I’ve been excited about the move and for what’s to come out of it, and continuing to learn and improve within the programme,” said Burke. “My expectations are to continue staying thorough with my recovery process to allow me to perform at high levels consistently throughout a full season.”

One of only two Bajan men ever to go under 10 seconds in the 100m, the former junior world bronze medalist will link up with world-class coaches Stephen and Paul Francis in Kingston. Other Barbadian athletes currently training at the MVP club include double world bronze medalist, Commonwealth Games record holder, and Olympic 400m finalist Sada Williams, and World Under-20 100m bronze medalist Kishawna Niles.

A former Harrison College student, Burke has previously trained under Allan Powell, Carl Lewis, and Leroy Burrell. He will hope to add to his indoor accolades this season, though he said his schedule for the year is not yet set in stone.

A three-time CARIFTA Games gold medallist and one-time Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games relay champion, Burke also went on to claim four medals with the University of Houston, two of those relay gold.

Now 27, he won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at 2016 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He also took silver in the men’s 60 at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships with a new personal best time of 6.55 seconds.

Burke will be hoping to qualify for this year’s World Athletics Championships in Japan.

(TF)