Dear Editor,
Since the end of the Tokyo Olympics, I have been agonising on the performance of our athletes at these games and what it meant for this country and I have come to the conclusion that we need to take some bold decisions on our future participation in these games. What a shame that a country like Guyana that has produced outstanding sportsmen and women over the years has only been able to win one bronze medal at the Olympics, courtesy of boxer Michael Parris. This is unacceptable and an indictment on the Guyana Olympic Association and all governments over the years. The Olympics is an opportunity to showcase our country on the biggest sporting event in the world and yet we are not grasping the opportunity like our sister CARICOM countries like Jamaica, Trinidad, Bahamas and even little Grenada.
I would therefore like to take this opportunity to make a few recommendations to the GOA and the Minister of Sports Charles Ramson Jnr. on the way forward for us to start winning medals at the Olympics. It is the biggest joke in Guyana to hear our athletes saying that they hope to achieve personal best in their event, when their PB is way off the Olympic time to win a medal. No athlete should be selected for the Olympics if their time is not on par with the world leading times leading up to games. Their times should be on par or better with the top athletes of the world and only then they should be selected for the Olympics. Having said that, we need to invest in our athletes. Jamaica is a powerhouse in athletics and we need to send our most promising athletes to train with the very best of that country. Guyana has strong and powerful young men and women and our best chance is to identify a few of them to take up the sports of Javelin, Discus and Shot Putt and send them to Jamaica to fine tune their skills.
Why I choose those three disciplines is because it will not be easy to beat the Jamaicans or Americans in the sprints and the Africans in the long distance events. Boxing is another discipline we can win medals. Send our best boxers to Cuba to work with their coaches who are some of the best in the world. Aleka Persaud looks like a good prospect in swimming. Send her to the USA to work with the best coaches there so that she can improve on her times and win against the best in the world. These stints must not be two or three months, but at a minimum two or three years leading up to the Olympics and with regular competitions with the best in the world and winning their events, I am sure we will start winning medals at the Olympics. I know critics will say where will the money come from and my answer to them is from the government. I call upon the Minister of Sports to impress on his bosses to invest in our sportsmen and women and put Guyana on the sporting map of the world. With the impending oil wealth, it can be done. All it takes is the will to do it. The ball is in your court Mr. Minister.
Sincerely,
Imtiaz Baccus
