The St Lucia Government recently honoured two of its leading sport personalities – cricketer and West Indies skipper Darren Sammy and high jump Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Levern Spencer – for the honour that their exceptional achievements brought to their country.
The two are reported as being gifted “packages of 10, 000 square feet of land and official passports” for their recent achievements.
Sammy’s exploits are well known throughout the world, more so with his recent rise to the post of captain of the besieged West Indies team.
But what catches the eye are the achievements behind the country’s honouring of the 26-year-old Spencer.
What is it about this latest development in St Lucia’s sports history that intrigues us?
Is it the astounding resemblance between the achievement of Spencer and that of Guyana’s 400m specialist Aliann Pompey?
The question that automatically comes to mind is where, oh where is Guyana’s two-time Commonwealth Games medalist Aliann Pompey’s plot of land, or any other benefits for that matter?
For last year alone, the achievement of Spencer mirrors that of Pompey; yet still, for Pompey her story has no happy ending.
There is no land for Pompey, any substantial reward, or acknowledgement that what she did brought great honour to her country.
This is what is frustrating for many Guyanese that signal lack of appreciation of being recognized for what you have done and what that achievement means to a country.
Spencer last year landed that country’s second bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games held in India during October.
Prior to that she set an unprecedented achievement in setting the country’s female high jump record of 1.98m.
Spencer accomplished that record in May at the Georgia Invitational.
According to reports the record also stands as the record of the Caribbean Community.
Spencer also has a gold medal from her last year performance at the Central American and the Caribbean Games, and she placed third in her high jump event at the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Continental Cup.
Pompey too won a medal for her homeland at the Commonwealth Games. Hers was a bronze that was eventually upgraded to silver, grossly accentuated because in the end, that medal was Guyana’s only medal of the Games
Pompey added this to a prior extraordinary achievement at the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championship, where she was the first Guyanese to make it to the finals of a world event.
And on another note of similarity, Pompey also secured a silver medal at the CAC Games in her pet 400m event.
Currently, Pompey still holds two of Guyana’s national women’s records in the 200m (23.59 seconds) and the 400m (50.71 seconds).
One wonders how it is that Guyanese athletes like Pompey and others, feel when they read the honour other Caribbean countries are bestowing on their athletes, while they continue to learn how to survive on “the love of the sport.”
This brings to mind the account given by Marian Burnett last year during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport, where she let it be known her distaste for the way in which athletes are being treated. Burnett also holds two of Guyana’s national records in the 800m (1:59.47s) and the 1500m (4:20.69s).
Burnett also medalled at the CAC Games. Hers was a bronze medal. She was allotted a spot on the team for the CWG but declined due to health reasons. Also for last year there was also the achievement of our young Jevina Straker who received not so much as a pat on the back for her gold medal in her 1500m at the CARIFTA Games.
For Straker last year was her second consecutive year in winning a gold medal at the highly esteemed CARIFTA Games, that is well known for producing the likes of world 100m record holder Usain Bolt.
Or what about Hugh Ross? No need to say what he has accomplished in the field of bodybuilding.
Going further down memory lane, there is also the case of Guyana’s sole Olympic medal winner, boxer Michael Parris, who won a bronze medal in the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Lucky for him Parris received his land and a house before he melted into non-recognition.
The unpatriotic disregard of the Guyanese people continues to appall.
But this is Guyana and it is easy to sweep such things under the carpet. In another few mornings all will be forgotten.
It is said you reap what you sow. Guyanese continue to expect athletes to turn straw into gold; nothing into something.
Yet some still arbitrarily demand good performances of the athletes and sports teams that compete internationally.
Guyanese sports fans too are quick to criticize athletes if they too fail to produce the kind of performance that is celebrated.
One hopes that this nation’s disregard for what it takes to succeed on the international stage will end in 2011 and that eventually the people of this country will unite and reward athletes who perform outstandingly on the international scene. (Tamica Garnett)
