Donna Raynor, president of the Bermuda National Athletics Association, has been named Bermuda’s chef de mission for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, the Bermuda Olympic Association announced today.

Raynor will lead the team, overseeing Bermuda’s participation in the Games from July 28 to August 8, and ensuring their welfare while competing.

In addition to her role as president of BNAA, Raynor is a member of the BOA Board, is chairwoman of the BOA’s Women in Sport Committee, and sits on the Development Commission for World Athletics. She was chairwoman of Bermuda’s successful 2012 Carifta Games, and retained that role for the 2021 Carifta Games being held in Bermuda in August.

She began her athletic career in track and field, and represented Bermuda several times in the Carifta Games and CAC Games, as well as the Pan Am Games. She was voted Bermuda’s Athlete of the Year in 1989.

Raynor said: “I am honoured to have been chosen by the BOA to lead Bermuda’s team as chef at the Birmingham 2022 Games. Bermuda always fields a strong team and has performed well historically at the Games, and I am looking forward to supporting our athletes, and ensuring things go smoothly for them. Having competed for Bermuda several times, I understand the pressure on athletes, and how overwhelming it can be to compete on the world stage. Together with their coaches and support staff, I’ll work to ensure that our team is ready for competition and does Bermuda proud.”

Judy Simons, the BOA president, said: “We’re so pleased that Donna has accepted the challenge of being our chef de mission at these important Games. With her background in athletics and extensive experience in sports administration, I can’t think of a better person to lead our team in what will be one of the first major festivals in the post-pandemic period. Our athletes will be in very good hands.”

The Birmingham 2022 Games, officially the XXII Commonwealth Games, will be highly integrated, with a number of events for athletes with disabilities. The Games will feature 23 sports and eight para sports.

Bermuda first competed in the Commonwealth Games in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, and has missed only four editions. The country’s first medal came in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1966 with John Morbey’s silver medal in men's long jump. The 1990 Games in Auckland produced the first gold for Bermuda when Clarance “Nicky” Saunders took gold in the men's high jump.

Saunders’s success was followed by Flora Duffy in 2018 at the Games in Gold Coast, Australia, when she swept all before her to capture gold in the triathlon.