Dear Editor,

2012, the year of the 30th (XXX) Olympiad in London is expected to be one with some stunning performances from athletes globally. I forsee nail-biting finals and upsets. Nothing gives me more satisfaction in the sports arena than to witness the high level competition at this particular meet.

I learnt during 2011 that the Chinese divers were called to camp extremely early, and it is train, eat and sleep – no holidays and no days off.

An SN report of Jan 6 was captioned ‘400m specialist aiming for gold at London Olympics.’ There is absolutely nothing wrong with anyone possessing such ambitions and anyone who may have aspirations of medalling at the Olympics, there is a process of preparation towards such a venture and they will have to begin this process very very very early. They must have discipline, committment and attitude. I say to the entire contingent that will represent The Golden Arrowhead at the London Olympics, good luck and compete hard.

An SN story of January 5 reported Boyce as being upbeat about the future of athletics. I sincerely hope that the AAG will be very successful in its future endeavours to upgrade athletics. As an independent sports’ enthusiast, it is also my opinion that a great deal will have to be done to make any level of progress. It’s great to learn from the article that the AAG has put in place arrangements for some selected persons to be relocated to Trinidad and Jamaica for high-level training.

The SN report of January 7 about Alika getting more international competitions this year, indicates progress for track and field, and I hope this athlete will live up to expectations and make Guyana proud. Can anyone from the track and field fraternity or the AAG educate the public at large about what became of a once promising distance athlete who relocated to the USA? I believe the name should be Vishwanauth Sukmangal.

I have to publicly request that the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs get its act together and be more pro-active about arranging for some of the forgotten hinterland track warriors to come to the front and have the opportunities others have. One of 2010’s national stars, Donita Wilson, (Region 9) is such a one, who created tidal waves and is more or less forgotten in her hometown. Another young female (whose name I can’t remember) at the 2011 nationals, again from Region 9, was a star, and the way I see it, she is another forgotten athlete. Let’s have a level playing field within the track and field fraternity with all ten regions having a shot at stardom.

Yours faithfully,
T Pemberton