– A frustrated Marian Burnett after running her guts out on the track has finally decided to spill her guts on what it is like to represent Guyana internationally
Guyana’s 800 and 1500m specialist Marian Burnett is literally killing herself to represent her country.
Burnett won a bronze medal in the 800m at this year’s Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) in Puerto Rico but became ill in the process.
“Mr. Burke (Brandford) and the Chef-de-Mission (Dion Nurse) they knew that I was sick but I still decided to run because I really wanted to get a medal for Guyana.
“Coming down to the final 100m I was feeling woozy and after the race I had to go and see the doctor and my pressure was high.
“My pressure never went high like that before in my life. It took me four hours before they released me and they gave me medication to take,” Burnett told Stabroek Sport in an exclusive interview yesterday.
The 34-year-old Burnett said she is dismayed that following her participation at the games she has received no communication from any association in Guyana showing the faintest of concerns towards her health.
“They didn’t call me concerning my health or nothing. They don’t know how you eating, sleeping, drinking, nothing. And this has been going on for years,” she stated.
Burnett has been competing for some 23 years now.
“Basically I was overseas running from since `87 to now and I still haven’t gotten a sponsor. I am doing this for my country, but I have to do it on my own. I don’t get any sort of assistance from Guyana – the AAG, the GOA nothing.”
She added: “I’m killing myself to represent Guyana and it’s like all I get is `thank you very much’ and that’s it. I don’t understand it. They just want you to run, run, run like a donkey and they don’t even call you to find out how you’re doing. Come on! That’s ridiculous,” she scoffed.
Opted out of Commonwealth Games
Burnet told Stabroek Sport that she has opted out of participating at the upcoming Commonwealth Games as her doctor has advised her not to take part in any events as it may be detrimental to her health.
She said this is despite the fact that she desperately wanted to return to Europe to continue her preparations for the Commonwealth Games.
“You have got to be really strong and have good faith to represent Guyana,” she said.
The Lindener said she has received very little reward for representing a country.
In 2000 Burnett received the title to a plot of land in her hometown, Linden.
The gesture by the Regional Democratic Council and residents of the area was done in recognition of her feats on the athletic scene, both at home and at the Essex County College where she was on an athletic scholarship.
The back-to-back Sportswoman-of-the-Year winner also received an on-the-spot promotion from lance corporal to corporal at a special function hosted by the Guyana Police Force.
That apart, Burnett said even the treatment by the AAG for this year’s CAC Games was a bit tough.
One of the six athletes that represented Guyana in varying events at CAC Games, Burnett said despite a request to local officials for her to contest the 1500m in Puerto Rico this was not done.
She said she received a call from the AAG asking her to represent Guyana at the CAC Games one month in advance.
Burnett told Stabroek Sport that at the time she was in Germany and it was from there that she had to travel to Puerto Rico.
She said that she was not particularly pleased with the welcome, or lack thereof, to which she was subjected when she got to Puerto Rico.
“The only time I heard from Guyana was about a month before the CAC Games and I was over in Europe.
“I was preparing to represent Guyana. I’m doing this because I love my country. So I flew all the way from Germany. I told them I was flying from Germany, it was going to be a long flight, so when I get there I at least would just want my room prepared so I can relax.
“I got there (in Puerto Rico) at about 8pm and I didn’t see anyone until I think it was about 10:45 that night, and it was the Chef-de-Mission, Mr. Nurse (Dion), he was the only one I saw,” Burnett related.
Burnett said she vented her frustration the following day when she subsequently learnt that Guyana had only registered her for the 800m, while she had specifically asked to be signed up for both the 800m and 1500m races.
She said she became privy to this information after she had finally been introduced to Burke, who was the manager of the athletic contingent.
“I told Guyana to sign me up for the 1500m and the 800m because that is what I do.
“But when I spoke to him (Burke) he said that he’s just the manager of the team and whatever he has on the paper is what he has been told and is what he would have to go with. Plus I saw him after he had already gone to the technical meeting.
But I told him that I was expecting to run both the eight and the 15 and I said that we need to try something, and so he went and he was really trying, he tried until up to about the Saturday, that was the 24th (July), and he said well I couldn’t get in,” Burnett related.
Following this she said she eventually came into contact with one of the officials of the event, who helped her to get into the 1500m, as well as assisted Aliann Pompey in getting into the 200m, for which she also had not been registered.
“I was training with my coach on Sunday. That’s the 25th (July) and he said `look I’m going to try’.”
“But I saw one of the guys that I knew, and they saw that I was looking all mopey so he asked me what was wrong and I explained to him that I couldn’t run the 1500m.
“I told him I had asked my country to put me in the 800 and the 1500m and I don’t understand why I’m not in both races and he helped me.
“And so I went with Aliann and we had to do up some letters and they got me in.
“This was the Sunday night and I had to run the next day the Monday.”
Burnett said she feels that this development contributed to her fourth place finish in the 1500m which she is not at all satisfied with.
“I placed fourth overall in that race, and I mean if I hadn’t had to go through all of that I think I would have done better and I’m just not satisfied because I know I could have done better,” Burnett said.
“And I went and trained with my coach on Sunday, which if I had known that I had to run on the Monday I wouldn’t have done that.”
