Trinidad-based Guyanese runner Lionel D’Andrade is peeved that the Athletics Association of Guyana failed to inform him of the postponement of the Independence Day half marathon which is now scheduled for Saturday after he had travelled here for the originally scheduled date last Saturday.
D’Andrade who flew to Guyana since April 28 to re-acclimatize himself to his home turf, stated that he was in contact with the president of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Colin Boyce before leaving Trinidad to return for the event which was then slated for May 26.
The distance star who won the Trinidad international half marathon on March 25 with a personal best time of 1:12 minutes stated that he came home specifically for the event.
As part of his preparation D’Andrade also travelled to Suriname to compete in two 10k events to get his legs motoring for the Independence Day run.
According to D’Andrade, on May 20th at the third edition of the President’s/Jefford Track Classic, Boyce confirmed that the half marathon was still on for May 26 which was the last time he spoke to the AAG president.
However, the meet was eventually postponed without Boyce or the AAG notifying D’Andrade who had to spend additional money to change his ticket to stay in Guyana.
Meanwhile D’Andrade has already missed a 5k event in Trinidad and will be unable to compete in the Independence Day run here this Saturday since he is the defending champion of the Ministry of Works 5k event in Trinidad which is also scheduled for this Saturday.
“I’m feeling bad and upset at the moment because the AAG did not inform me that the meet was postponed. I heard through other athletes and that upset me because I was always in contact with Boyce since I was in Trinidad,” D’Andrade told Stabroek Sport yesterday.
D’Andrade also pointed out that the AAG does not communicate with him a lot and thinks that they should be more proactive in this area.
“They hardly communicate with me and I think they should get better in that area but at the moment I’m just frustrated with the situation because I was in contact with Boyce from the start,” D’Andrade stated.
Meanwhile the gifted distance runner will return to Trinidad tomorrow to defend his title at the Ministry of Works 5k event.
