Poised to race at the starting line of the Olympics 800m final, Shafiqua Maloney had already made history as the first St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) native to compete in an Olympic final.
By then, Maloney had become a celebrity in her multi-island nation, with stories about the 25-year-old and posts of encouragement dominating the country’s news and social media. So, as she waited for the bang of the starter pistol, she knew that she was a symbol of the talent and resilience of a vulnerable small island nation 4,000 miles away.
