‘I feel down but I wasn’t surprised’
The South American Youth (Under 17) Championships which were held in Argentina last weekend but and the agony of not being able to participate in that event still pains 15-year old sprint ace Tevin Garraway.
Garraway’s pain was inflicted by the national track and field ruling body, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), which said that they were in financial difficulties and could not afford to send him to that meet. Speaking exclusively with Stabroek Sport this week, Garraway said that he was totally disappointed by the governing track and field body as they appeared not to show any interest at all in generating the requisite funding to send him to Argentina.
“All in all, to me, these people (AAG) didn’t put any effort at all. It’s like they didn’t really mindful of sending me anywhere in the first place,” Garraway said.
Garraway also said that the fact that the AAG did not ask him for documentation, was further evidence of their inactivity and lack of effort toward facilitating his participation in the South American Youth Championships. Garraway said that he thought that the AAG had no excuse for not sending him to the competition as they sent much larger teams to meets earlier in the year.
“When I look at the teams that they send to CARIFTA and all the people that the send to South American Under-23 and they said they could find money just for me (to) go Argentina it don’t make sense, so I ain’t buying no excuse.”
The 15-year-old said that he still could not come to grips with the fact that he was shunned by the AAG even though he ran much faster than the qualifying times for the meet stipulated by the AAG, prepared extensively and was even viewed by most coaches as a sure medallist.
President of the AAG Colin Boyce told Stabroek Sport over the weekend that the AAG could not afford to send Garraway and his coach to the meet. However, the AAG had more than a year to budget for and generate funding for the meet as it was on the calendar of events as a compulsory meet. So apart from leaving Garraway torn and disappointed, the AAG will face sanctions from the South American Confederation.
The qualifying standards set by the AAG for the South American Youth Champions were 22 seconds in the 200m and 10.7 seconds in the 100m. Garraway gapped his opponents when the AAG staged the trials early in September clocking 10.6s and 21.7s seconds respectively. Garraway had told Stabroek Sport that he was elated with those times and thought that he finally was in a position to medal at an international competition after making the finals in the under 17 category at CARIFTA. After a few weeks of training Garraway said that his confidence continued to increase and he felt poised to go make Guyana proud at the South American Youth Championships.
“Yeah I was fully prepared… I was looking forward to getting an overseas medal because the preparation was there and everything,(all that was left to be done) was just to go out and perform and get it,” Garraway added.
After learning of the disappointing news, the Leonora Secondary School student said that although he was crushed, he had been expecting it.
“Since like a week before they told me that I wasn’t going, I was finding out what was happening and nobody wasn’t really telling me anything so I try to start preparing my mind for if they didn’t send me anywhere, and well you see they end up not sending me,” Garraway said.
“Usually they would start asking you for your documents and so but even up to a week before they didn’t ask me for anything so I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to get to go but I still keep training hard,” Garraway added.
The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) reigning U16 school sprint champion added..“Is not like I was the first person that it happened to.”
Garraway was on the money, as the AAG has similarly disenfranchised several athletes. As recent as last month, the AAG could not afford to send two-time CARIFTA 1500m gold medallist Jevina Straker to the South American U23 championships in Brazil while not even allowing Alika Morgan, a five-time CARIFTA medallist, to compete at the trials for the event. Earlier this year the AAG was even mixed up in the controversy relating to accreditation which prevented IAAF World silver medallist Kadecia from competing in the Olympic Games.
Garraway said that he is trying his best to overcome disappointment and hopes to do so by smashing the Under 18 sprint record at GTU Nationals this month. He has already qualified for the 100m, 200m, and 400m and will be looking to lower the records of Guyana’s two South American Under 23 bronze medallist Chavez Ageday and Stephon James. Ageday’s record in the 100m and 200m are 10.7 and 22s and James’s 400m record is 51s but according to Garraway, those records are not safe as long as he is on the track.
