– Harris, Pompey and Bascom leaving US today for Commonwealth Games; Harris receives Ato Boldon help
The three overseas-based athletes Adam Harris, Aliann Pompey and Jeremy Bascom are today scheduled to depart the United States for New Delhi, India, where they will represent Guyana track and field at the Commonwealth Games from October 3 – 14.
The other participating athlete traveling out of Guyana, Cleveland Forde, and the attending official, President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Colin Boyce, are expected to depart tomorrow morning at 6am to travel to India.
Regarding concerns over conditions in the Games Village Boyce yesterday said that safety and security concerns were at the top of his agenda.
Boyce said he has spoken with Chef-de-Mission, Garfield Wiltshire, who assured him he will look into the issues.
Speaking with Stabroek Sport via telephone, Boyce also noted that he had spoken with Dr Pradeep Balram, manager of the table tennis contingent, and was told that adequate medical facilities will be stationed at the Village to tackle any outbreak of dengue fever that may arise.
Additionally, Boyce stated that as a precaution he will be packing a supply of insect repellant to assist to subdue the disease which is transmitted mainly via mosquitoes.
“The security of the athletes and the officials is everybody’s concern… I had a discussion with Mr. Wiltshire and he indicated that all the arrangements will be in place to ensure the security of all of the athletes and officials. He said that things are expected to be finished and we are hoping that by the time we get there everything would have been put in place.
“I also spoke to Dr Balram, concerning the dengue, and he has indicated that there will be adequate medical facilities at the games village to deal with anything that may come up, and I will be walking along with insect repellant,” Boyce stated.
Bascom told Stabroek Sport that he has no qualms about the Village as he has been reassured by those in charge that the necessary measures to ensure his security, will be put in place by the time he gets there.
Speaking via telephone, the 26-year-old stated that he was just focussed on
doing his best in his events when he gets to the village adding that he was just out to ensure that he was physically and mentally prepared for his task.
At the Games, Bascom is scheduled to participate in the 100m and 200m sprints. Bascom represented Guyana at the South American Championships in Brazil in 2006 and at the Central America and the Caribbean Games in 2006.
“Right now I’m just making sure that I eat right and get adequate rest, I’m just working on getting myself physically and mentally prepared for this. I have a wonderful coach, Kendrick Smith, and he has been doing a wonderful job of getting me prepared for that. I am going out there to do my best and whatever God has in store for me, I’ll accept it when it comes,” Bascom said.
Harris told this newspaper said that despite having some trouble with his hamstring it was his opinion and the opinion of his coach as well, that right now he is at his best for the year. Harris will runn the 100m and 200m alongside Bascom.
“I’ve been training very hard for the Commonwealth Games, and both my coach and myself think that I’m in the best shape [that] I’ve been in all season. Sadly, I had a little bit of a hamstring tweak not too long ago, but I’m working with my chiropractor and masseuse to get it back to normal as fast as possible,” Harris stated.
Harris had been part of Guyana’s athletic contingent that had attended that CAC Games earlier this year where he participated in the 100m and 200m sprints but was unable to medal. Harris said that he was not certain what went wrong, but since then he has been working to improve his skills.
“I have no idea what went wrong. It was just one of those races that you think you were doing well but just didn’t. My legs felt good and my body felt good, but I just couldn’t put down the power that I wanted to,” Harris said.
He related that he has since received advice from Trinidadian four-time Olympic medal winner, Ato Boldon. Harris said that as it is now he has just been feeding off the encouragement of all of those who have been supporting him and is just looking forward to performing at the Commonwealth Games.
“My coach and I, we’ve worked a lot on my stamina, so that the 100m will feel shorter and the 200 as well. We’ve also worked on my start, and Ato Boldon came out to help a little with that. So if I can get my start position and drive phase where it should be I should be in good shape to run some faster times, just got to hope that my legs hold up through the rounds,” Harris said
“I am just grateful to everyone for their support. It’s nice to get the Facebook messages and e-mails, it really helps with my training and reminds me what I’m doing it for,” Harris said.
Neither Pompey nor local athlete, Forde, could be contacted for their comments relating to the upcoming Games. Forde will participate in the 1500m and 5000m, while Pompey will be participating solely in the 400m race.
Looking at the team’s prospects, Boyce said that having assessed the performance of Forde, Pompey and Harris from the CAC Games, he feels that the team stands ready to earn some medals at the Games.
Boyce said that while he acknowledges that the Commonwealth Games will be on a higher level than the CAC Games, he believes that the athletes can perform just as well. The three were chosen based on their performance at the CAC, while Bascom was selected based on his performance in the 100m at the New Jersey Open and Masters Outdoor Championship at Ramapo, New Jersey in June this year.
At the event running 10 seconds flat Bascom became Guyana’s newest record holder of the male 100m title, breaking the longstanding 32-year-old 10.19 seconds record that was held by James Wren Gilkes.
Athletics at the Commonwealth Games will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from October 6 – 12.
