Double delight. Twin sisters Alandria (right) and Aleeaha Dawkins. - Photos by Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

If in 15 years, you see double vision of Veronica Campbell-Brown, it'll probably be twin sisters Aleeaha and Alandria Dawkins high-stepping to the finish line.

The 10-year-olds, who idolise Ver, the repeat Olympic 200m champ, had a storybook journey at the recently concluded Institute of Sports/Swizzle Primary Athletic Championships at the National Stadium last Saturday.

Aleeaha won gold and silver in the 100m and 150m, respectively, while sister Alandria mined gold in the 150m in 20.59 seconds ahead of her sister, who clocked 20.66. Their school, Gregory Park Primary, was ecstatic.

Even though they place a lot of emphasis on training, they still reserve enough time to tackle their bookwork.

"We make sure our schoolwork is done before we go to training. We know how to manage our time," Aleeaha stated.

Though the training facilities at the school are not ideal for high-class competition, the Dawkinses make good use of the little they have.

"We don't have adequate equipment at our school, but we train hard and run with our heart.

"We are in need of starting blocks, high-jump bags, obstacles for hurdling, a long-jump pit and running spikes," Alandria said.

typical kids

The girls are still your typical preteens and during their spare time they play lots of kiddie games and ride their bicycles every day. Though more modern cartoons hold the interest of many children, the twins go wild for the classic, Tom and Jerry.

They also said they share a great relationship. "We share everything, food, toys and other things," Aleeaha disclosed.

The Dawkinses praised their parents for standing by them but have appealed for corporate sponsors to come on-board to bolster the school's athletic programme.

"We get good support from the teachers at school, especially our principal, Ivy Jarrett, but we need more from the community, especially business places in the area," Aleeaha told Saturday Life.

"We get overwhelming support from our parents. Our mother, Giovannie Hamm, follows us everywhere we compete."

anthony.minott@gleanerjm.com

Gregory Park's Aleeaha Dawkins (right) gestures to her twin sister Alandria (left) after the final of the class three girls 150m at Primary Champs.

Who's better at what

Coach Andrew Gutzmore, a national representative in the marathon, said Aleeaha is mentally stronger and has more speed than Alandria. Alandria, however, has more endurance and is physically stronger than her sister.

See more on Aleeaha and Alandria in next week's Children's Own magazine.