President David Granger, welcomed the contingent of athletes which returned home yesterday to a hero’s welcome at State House after they raced into the record books at the recent Flow CARIFTA Games in Curacao.
In a historic feat, the team of 12 athletes ran, hopped, jumped and skipped to eight medals (four gold), their most successful outing at the annual Games which celebrated its 46th anniversary on Easter Monday in Willemstad.
Compton Caesar sprinting to a gold medal in the marquee 100m Boys U-20 event, the first for Guyana, came in for high praises as did the performances of the rest of the medalists, Chantoba Bright, Natricia Hooper, Claudrice McKoy and Anfernee Headecker.
“I am proud of what you did and I want to congratulate each of you” said the President.
President Granger added “Most of all athletes, I am very proud of this 46 year- old record. I always compare track and field to cricket. But the only reason cricket was able to succeed is because it has a broad base. When sport has a narrow base it is harder to sustain.”
The President continued “I believe as years go by if we replicate that structure (of cricket), the standard of track and field will rise.”
Granger then presented 2017 Independence Coins as a memorabilia to each athlete, joking that they will worth a fortune in the next 50 years.
During the visit, brief congratulatory remarks were also made by Director of Sport, Christopher Jones and President of the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) Aubrey Hutson.
Said Hutson “This is indeed an honour to be here, I never would have thought we would have gotten here this far in such a short period of time. Through hard work of the athletes and the coaches, we were able to turn out our best performance.”
The AAG head thanked the President for hosting the contingent and added that “we look forward for your continued support in future.”
Before making the esteemed stop at State House, a ceremony welcoming the athletes took place at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport upon their arrival.
Remarks were made there by Jones and Hutson.
Following the ceremony, there was a six-vehicle motorcade through the streets from the airport to the city, to the delight of the public.
