Ivanniz Mey Blackwood

Happy birthday to Costa Rica’s sprinter Ivanniz Mey Blackwood, who won three national golds in January in front of her own town.

At the Juegos Deportivos Nacionales in January, hosted in Limón, Ivanniz won the 100m, the 200m and the 400m in the U23 category and added a silver in the 4x400m. Winning one sprint title is a good week. Winning the 100, the 200 and the 400 at the same championship means beating three completely different fields who have each trained for a different race, and she did it at home, in the province she is from, in front of the people who have watched her since she was at the Colegio Deportivo de Limón.

Her lifetime bests come from another home championship. At the NACAC U18/U20/U23 Championships at the Estadio Nacional in San José in July 2021, Ivanniz ran 12.13 over 100m on the Friday and 24.50 over 200m on the Sunday, both personal bests, in a continental championship on Costa Rican soil. She has a Central American senior bronze over 200m, three national titles, and two World U20 Championships behind her, in Nairobi and in Cali.

And she dances every win. Costa Rican press calls it her sello personal, her personal trademark, and headlines her as the limonense who wins golds and then dances them. Her Instagram bio carries two flags, the Costa Rican and the Jamaican, which is Limón’s own history in two emoji. She is planning to study social work.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Ivanniz! Que cumplás muchos años más, que la pasés lindo con los tuyos en Limón, y que este año traiga más oros y más baile. ¡Pura vida! 🎂🎁🎉🫶🫶🇨🇷