Locally based sprinters, Noelex Holder and Akeem Stewart, one-half of the bronze medal winning quartet at the just concluded South America Senior Championships in Ecuador have labelled their achievement as surreal.
The athletes along with the accompanying team officials spoke of their experiences during a press briefing which was held yesterday at the headquarters of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) at Liliendaal.
Also present at the briefing were GOA’s head, Kalam Juman-Yassin, men’s 800m national champion, Devaun Barrington and head of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Aubrey Hutson.
Holder, in his first South American Championships outing, stated that he relished the opportunity to represent the Golden Arrowhead and is thirsty to do same in the not too distant future. “I felt very comfortable in the race and it was truly a great experience. I cannot wait to compete again for Guyana”.
Stewart expressed heartfelt thanks to the managers and support staff along with administrators Juman-Yassin and Hutson for believing in the team.
“I think the experience we have gained there can only propel us. Our aim was for the gold medal but bronze is nevertheless a great achievement. The experience of Jeremy Bascombe and Emanuel Archibald really helped us towards the medal so I am grateful for that,” Stewart said.
Guyana’s contingent snared five medals, a silver and four bronze medals at the Championship which was staged from May 29 to 31.
In his remarks, Hutson noted that he was grateful for the support that the AAG received from the GOA to send the 12-member outfit to Ecuador and added that he is hopeful that the support is maintained since Team Guyana has proven that they are capable of producing medals with the requisite support.
He further stated, “When we put into perspective that two athletes are based out of Guyana, I think we need to give compliments to the coach [Johnny Gravesande]. He did well in setting the relay order and the athletes executed well given the short time they had.”
Meanwhile, Juman-Yassin pointed out that the team’s performance augurs well in staking a claim for future contingents to have a men’s relay team as part of the contingent. He also iterated his belief that the women have the ability to perform well and called for Guyana to field a female relay team in the future.
Team manager, Kenisha Headley noted that the experience was a great one. She made a special note detailing that the members of Ecuador’s local organising committee made the Guyanese team feel at home and although there was a language barrier, they spoke in English as often as they could.
Prior to the conclusion of the event, Hutson reminded that the National Championships slated for June 18-20 will be a heated affair with many athletes having a point to prove while others will be looking to run qualifying times for the Tokyo Olympics.
And in a note-worthy development, Juman-Yassin has stated that any athlete who uses their personal funds to travel to meets and qualifies for the Olympics will receive 100% reimbursement on funds spent.
