Jamaica’s national hero and orator Marcus Mosiah Garvey once said, “With confidence, you have won even before you have started.”
And yesterday coach of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) athletics club Robert Chisholm said that his athletes have the edge over the rest of the competition for the President’s/Jefford Track & Field Classics scheduled for Sunday at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground, Linden.
He also sounded a warning to the Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) that it will be overthrown.
The PPYC are the national under-23 track & field champions but yesterday Chisholm said that club holds such a distinction because most of his seasoned athletes were away on “force exercises”.
Further, Chisholm asserted that there will be a changing of the guard at the conclusion of the championships because for the year his best athletes have not been beaten and they will be present at the upcoming meet. Chisholm’s confidence led to the point where he stated he will be using the meet to assess where the athletes stand and how much more needs to be done for next month’s Inter-Services Games.
The GDF dethroned multiple winners Guyana Police Force (GPF) last year in the Joint Services Track and Field Championships at Camp Ayanganna ground.
“The competition on Sunday will be tight but the GDF have the edge because nobody has beaten my senior athletes for the year. My athletes will give a good account of themselves because we (coaching staff) are looking to use this meet as a warm-up for next month to assess where we are,” Chisholm emphasised.
The Level Three athletics coach, who recently returned from Argentina, pointed out that the strength of his 34-athlete contingent comes from the sprinters and long distance athletes.
The President’s/Jefford Track & Field Classic is being held in memory of former national athlete Elton Jefford who died on October 29, 2008 at age 48.
The winning club will receive $300,000 while second, third and fourth places will collect $200,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
Meanwhile, according to reports coming from the competitions director of the meet, Mark Scott, the MSC is currently being prepared for Sunday. Yesterday the president of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Colin Boyce and Coordinator of the championships Edison Jefford were at the venue overseeing works at the facility to have it in pristine condition.
Regarding the athletes and clubs competing, Scott stated that the PPYC has so far registered 40 athletes, GDF 34, Linden Police Club/Upper Demerara will be fielding 23 and the alliance of the Royal Youth Club, Running Brave and Rising Star have brought together 29 athletes.
