President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) of, K Juman-Yassin has put his guard up to the social media jabs thrown by amateur standout Keevin Allicock.
Allicock was recently critical of the GOA and the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) in a lengthy post on his Facebook page following his ‘unexpected and scary’ ordeal at the South American Games which he attended earlier this month in Paraguay.
In a13-paragraph statement dubbed ‘Our Sportsmen and Women Deserve Better’, Allicock articulated that local athletes are deserving of ‘basic yet fundamental privileges’ which are not afforded.
The 23-year-old, who earned a bronze medal at the event but lost his semi-final bout on the scales due to being overweight, stated in retrospect, that the GOA should have sent a physiotherapist and a medical practitioner as part of the local contingent at the multi-sport event which concluded on October 15.
Sparring with the GOA, the post by Allicock stated that he was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis on October 11 and he was at his “weakest yet but unfortunately, Guyana did not have a medical practitioner or a single capable person with professional medical capabilities” to render assistance.
Juman-Yassin told this publication yesterday that the GOA has sent personnel to several games prior but a decision was made by the executive not to send medical personnel to the South American Games. He then stated that the Allicock and his coach on the sojourn (Terrence Poole) should be the ones shouldering the blame.
“The coach, who is a professional and has years of experience, should have been aware of any potential danger if he fasted too long or did not have any liquids because it seemed to me he was dehydrated from lack of food and fluids,” said Yassin.
“It seems that the situation in which Allicock found himself was one in which he had to reduce his weight. And that was solely for his coach and himself to determine,” he added.
The long standing GOA head said he was awaiting more information on the matter.
“I am awaiting the manager’s report on boxing to learn what caused the problem with Allicock. Was it something that could not have been foreseen? Why was he over-weight? How long had he not eaten? What checks were made? Was a scale available to monitor? There is a corresponding responsibility from the GBA, the coach and boxer.”
Juman-Yassin then questioned had there been a physiotherapist on the team if there would have been a different outcome.
“Had we had a physio there, would it have made a difference? Because, from what was reported, he needed treatment quickly and there is no guarantee that the physio or a doctor if they were there would have been on site at the time.
“We have had physios at the Tokyo Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the Cali Games. It is always good to have your own personnel but at all games there are physios, doctors, poly clinic etc., available in the Games Village for the benefit of all teams.”
Yassin continued “The GOA will endeavor to have personnel at games but from the report that I received, Allicock was attended to almost immediately by a doctor from the Panama Team. There was no delay in him receiving medical attention. I was very concerned when I heard what happened to Keevin Allicock and I am glad that he received treatment and recovered quickly.”
Yassin then stated that the GOA has been a trusted cornerman for Allicock during his amateur career but disclosed that he was unhappy with how events transpired and how the Tokyo2020 Olympian vented on Facebook.
“The GOA has spent a lot of money on the sport of boxing and Keevin Allicock is the number one recipient of those resources. I was disappointed that he lost on the scales. A bronze medal is a medal but he should not have lost on the scales and I hope that an investigation will be done by the GBA to ascertain what went wrong.”
In a statement released on Thursday by the GBA, it was revealed that the body is in the process of launching a formal internal investigation “into the intricacies and details surrounding the entire episode to find a solution, which is not insulated from facts.”
“I am not elated for the bronze medal for better should have been done by the coach and the GBA. I am aware that the manager’s report will be forthcoming and I await to see this report to see if any fault is laid at the feet of Keevin Allicock. I wish him well and honestly I am surprised at his posting but at the end of the day, we do what we feel we should do,” Juman-Yassin concluded.
