– AAG president
President of the Athletics Association of Guyana, Colin Boyce says the association has not received ratification from the world governing body, the International Athletics Association Federation (IAAF), for the purported 10 seconds timings by Jeremy Bascom in the 100m.
It was reported that earlier this year Guyanese overseas-based athlete, Bascom, ran in the U.S. Track and Field – New Jersey (USATF-NJ) Open and Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships on June 19 where he purportedly clocked 10 secs in the 100m.
The time if proven would have given Guyana a new national record in the men’s 100m, surpassing the current 32-year-old 10.19 seconds by James Wren Gilkes in Ingelheim, Germany.
According to the official website for the meet, Bascom is reported to have run a 10 seconds timing in the qualifier heats of the men’s 16 – 29 100m dash. However, reports have since surfaced that question the validity of Bascom’s time.
Bascom was among the four athletes who represented Guyana at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. He was selected as a backup athlete after the original nominee, Marian Burnett, had made known her unavailability for the event.
At the Games, Bascom, along with overseas-based Adam Harris represented Guyana in the 100m event. Both were eliminated in the second round of the event with Bascom running 10.63 seconds, which was preceded by a 10.55 seconds in the first round heats where he placed fourth. Harris was eliminated on a pedestrian 11.88 seconds.
Speaking with Stabroek Sport, Boyce said that having subsequently received information on Bascom’s purported feat, the association had sent the information to the IAAF for confirmation but to date has received none.
Boyce also stated that they had hoped the time to be true since based on this, they had selected Bascom to represent Guyana at the Games (CWG). However, with no word from the IAAF it was Bascom’s current confirmed 10.55 seconds personal best-time in the 100m that was submitted for his entry into the CWG.
“We got some information on Mr. Bascom’s performance at the event, and we sent the information for ratification from the IAAF, but we haven’t heard from them, so for the Commonwealth Games we could not submit that timing – we submitted his prior 10.55 seconds personal best,” Boyce said
“So much relied on the basis of this 10 seconds timings, because it was on this that he was selected for the CWG after Marian had declined. We wanted to give him the opportunity to produce it again. We were hoping that he would do it again or at least do something close like a 10.01 or something. If he had ran that sort of timings again he would have won the race. If you look at the results from the Games 10 seconds would have won, but both he and Mr. Harris (Adam) were disappointingly eliminated in the second round,” Boyce said.
Moreover, while Bascom’s record is still displayed on the meet’s official website, it has never been documented on the IAAF website among those listed for notable times in the men’s 100m.
Lee Powell, another Guyanese who participated at the event, has since declared that there was a mix-up and confusion over the times at the event which eventually led to Bascom being recorded with a 10 seconds finish.
