Elite athletes Tyrone Smith, Arantxa King and Aaron Evans received a welcome Christmas present from Bermuda Healthcare Services yesterday in the form of renewed sponsorship to the tune of $4,000.

The sponsorship gift, $12,000 in total, will help them pursue goals for next season, which includes the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Smith and King, both long jumpers, recently hosted a Jump Camp at the National Sports Centre for aspiring athletes, sponsored by Bermuda Healthcare Services.

Evans, who recently graduated from the University of Georgia, is based in Oregon where he is training with the Nike Oregon Track Club. King is based in Kentucky and Smith in Texas.

“I know first hand the positive impact that sports can have in development of young people and believe that elite Bermudian athletes of this calibre must be supported and celebrated as they rise, not just when they bring home the gold for Bermuda,” said Dr Ewart Brown, executive chairman of Bermuda Healthcare Services.

“Aranxta, Tyrone and Aaron represent just some of the best talent that Bermuda can produce and we are proud to sponsor them.”

Bermuda Healthcare Services and the Brown Darrell Clinic, facilitated by Digicel, were able to announce the sponsorships with King and Smith via video conferencing. Evans’ grandfather, Clarkson Smith, was on hand to accept the cheque on his grandson’s behalf.

King and Smith represented Bermuda at last year’s Olympic Games in London while Evans just failed to reach the qualifying mark in the 800 metres.

The first major event for the trio is likely to be the World Indoor Championship in Poland in March before the focus switches to the Commonwealth Games.

“I go back to training in a few weeks and then we go to the World Indoor Championships in Poland, and then after that the main focus is the Commonwealth Games and that is where we want to be peaking,’ Smith told The Royal Gazette recently while back in Bermuda.

“Everything else after this moment is icing on the cake but Commonwealth is the main goal at the moment. I think I’m going to do much better, so with the training picking up in the near future, it will be fun to see how the season shapes up.”

King is also looking forward to the upcoming season, starting with the World Indoor Championships. “I’m especially looking forward to representing Bermuda and doing well this summer,” she said.