TALLAHASSEE -- Two amateur athletes well-versed in the art of sprinting were named the Jimmy Carnes Amateur Athlete of the Year for their Florida Sunshine State Games performance at the 2002 Summer Games in Palm Beach County, June 12-16.

Anita Perkins, 16, of Belle Glade, won three gold medals and a silver medal at the track & field competition while Larry Parzynski, 16, of Cape Coral took home five gold medals and a silver medal in canoe/kayak competition.

Perkins took first in the Young Women's Javelin Throw with a 112 ft. 6 inch throw, the 100 Meter Hurdles with a time of 15.61 and the 400 Meter Hurdles with a time of 1:10.24. Her second place finish came in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 10.50 inches, nine inches short of a gold medal. At the 2002 Class 3A FHSAA Track & Field Championships, Perkins placed 5th in the long jump (18-05.75), fourth in the 100 meter high hurdles with a 15.11 and was on the Glades Central High School 4 X 400 meter relay team that placed ninth.

She has won gold medals at the Sunshine State Games each of the last three years and has won seven gold medals on a national level at the USA Track & Field Youth National Championships and the AAU National Club Championships. In 1999, she set a USA Track & Field National Record in the Youth Division Javelin with a throw of over 110 feet.

Perkins attends Glades Central High School in Belle Glade where she will be a senior in 2002-03. She has been a member of The Glades Track Club, coached by Mike White, for the last seven years.

Larry Parzynski, 16, of Cape Coral, won a total of five Canoe/Kayak gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze competing in both the 17 & under age group and 18 & over age group. "He could have competed in all 18+ events because he's that good," said John Edwards, Sunshine State Games Canoe/Kayak Sport Director.

Parzynski won four sprint races, the 500M K-2 Olympic Juniors 17 & under, with partner Mike Gyrmek, the 200M Olympic K-1 18+ and the 500M Olympic K-1 men 17 & under. In the 18+ events he competed, he won the gold medal in the 200M Olympic K-1 sprint and Olympic K-1 marathon race.

In May, Parzynski won the first seat on the United States National Marathon Team at a competition in Austin, Texas and will represent the U.S. in the Czech Republic in international competition, in August.

Also a gold medallist in the 2001 Sunshine State Games canoe/kayak competition, Parzynski is home-schooled through a program from Cambridge Academy in Ocala. He and his father, Larry who also medalled in the 2002 Sunshine State Games canoe/kayak competition, build canoes for competition as a hobby.

Perkins and Parzynski join Felicia Gostisbehere, an 11-year old figure skater from Margate and Andrew Stroud, a 20-year old fencer from Safety Harbor as Sunshine State Games Athletes of the Year. Gostisbehere and Stroud earned their awards at the 2002 Spring Games held in Lakeland, May 9-12.

The 2002 Summer Games, held in Palm Beach County, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, featured over 7,000 athletes competing in 27 sports. The Sunshine State Games are a program of the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization of the State of Florida. The 2003 Sunshine State Games feature the Spring Games in Lakeland, May 8-11 and the Summer Games, to be held in the Tampa Bay area, June 11-15.

For more information about the Florida Sports Foundation and the Sunshine State Games, check www.flasports.com or call toll free 1-866-FL-GAMES (354-2637).