-says Alika Morgan who is on the verge of realizing her dream of attending the Beijing Olympics
By Kiev Chesney
Every athlete dreams of having the privilege of going to the Olympics and for Alika Morgan that dream will become an actuality as she departs this Sunday for the Beijing Summer Olympic Games as a youth camper.
Morgan, who has been nothing short of dominant in local middle and long distance events as well as outstanding at the regional level, was selected by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) earlier this year to participate in the Beijing Olympic youth camp programme.
The programme will allow athletes from around the world to interact, foster friendships and fully understand and carry on the spirit of the games.
Alika told Stabroek Sports in an exclusive interview yesterday that she was elated to be part of the Olympic Games this year and will try her best to enjoy every moment.
“I can’t wait to get there and see all the nice things that China has to offer and meet athletes from all over the world that are my age,” she said.
“I am really excited about meeting people from all over the world and making new friends with fellow athletes like myself,” she added.
However, Morgan said that participating in the youth camp programme was only fulfilling half of her dream, the other half of which is actually competing in an Olympic Games.
“I am really glad that I can go out there and see the best athletes in the world and I think that that will only make me want to participate in the Olympics even more,” she said.
“I want to try to learn as much as I can from the other athletes and persons that I meet there so that I can come back and train hard to participate in the next Olympics,” she added.
Morgan is currently 18 and will be 22 at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
She has so far won numerous national junior and senior titles during her six-year competitive athletic career and more recently, four titles at the Caricom 10k and five medals at the junior Carifta in three years of participation.
She has also collected more than a dozen medals and trophies from the Hampton International Games in Trinidad which she has been consistently competing in for the past six years.
“I know I have to train hard because it will not be easy but I know that I will get there,” Morgan said.
Alika said that she plans to do a lot of training overseas at some high altitude training facility and although she has not yet decided where, she said that the Kipchoge Keino center in Kenya is one of her options.
“If I hope to run better times, I know that I will have to go to more overseas competitions and may train at a high altitude center overseas like what Cleveland [Forde] did.”
Forde incidentally just returned from the Kip Keino training center, where he had been training, complements of an Olympic Solidarity scholarship provided by the GOA.
According to the information provided on the official website of the youth camp programme (http://en.beijing2008.cn), the Beijing Olympic Games youth camp programme will follow international practices while displaying Chinese characteristics. Camp members will attend the Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies and sports events, and some of them will be selected to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay as well as visit the Olympic Village.