Olympic Qualifying for Belisle a Matter of Finishing 22nd : Running: Pacoima resident with dual citizenship earns berth on 1992 Belizean team after effort in L.A. Marathon.

The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona are more than 15 months away, but Polin Belisle of Pacoima already has made the national team--the Belizean national team.

Belisle, a 24-year-old native of Belize, has been selected to represent the small Central American country in the Olympic marathon.

After finishing 22nd in the recent Los Angeles Marathon--the best finish among Valley entrants--he received a letter from the president of the Belize Olympic Assn. informing him that his time of 2 hours 24 minutes 15 seconds had qualified him for the ’92 Belizean team.

This might seem like an unusual selection process for something as prestigious as the Olympics, but it is nothing new for Belize.

Three years ago, Belisle made the country’s team for the Seoul Olympics after sending the Belize Olympic Assn. a resume and documentation of his fourth-place finish in the 1988 Long Beach Marathon.

Belisle had a disappointing marathon in Seoul, vomiting during the race because of what he believes was a reaction to Korean food.

He did manage to finish, running into the stadium in a disappointing time of 3 hours 11 minutes. “I was pretty mad because of all the training I’d put in,” he said.

Belisle, who became a U. S. citizen a year ago and now has dual citizenship, has been living in the Los Angeles area for 16 years. The 1984 graduate of Burbank High recently moved from North Hollywood to Pacoima and was able to quit his clerical job at Universal Studios after the Belize government agreed to sponsor his training.

The Belizeans also plan to send him all over the world to compete in marathons, beginning with the Guatemalan Marathon in April and including the World Games in Japan next winter.

“They want to send me everywhere,” he said, “but my body can only do so much.”

Belisle, a slight 5-foot-5, trains at Burbank High and Griffith Park, running about 110 miles a week. Aside from getting an agent to set up sponsorships, he also has aligned himself with a new trainer, Ed Kubinski, whom he has known for about two years.

Kubinski, a mechanic with General Motors who lives in Sylmar, has no experience as a trainer but says he gets his information from books.

But Belisle likes Kubinski’s enthusiasm and dedication to him, “and I think he’s going to help me do well in Barcelona,” Belisle said.

Concentrating full time on his running, Belisle believes he can shave at least 12 seconds off his marathon time as he chases his “dream of winning the Olympic gold medal.” And Barcelona will be different from Seoul in at least one way:

“I’m going to bring my own food,” he said.