The 33rd Olympiad is done and dusted with many athletes and countries walking away with medals, their names etched into Olympic history, sadly, once again, Guyana and its athletes were not in that special group.
This publication had questioned the Guyana Olympic Association’s (GOA) plans for the future just a few days prior to the start of Paris 24 as the Games were coined thus year.
To-date, there has been no response, not even a murmur from any official from the GOA. With Guyana’s participation at the Games effectively over within the first five days in Paris, the GOA has not seen it fit to offer the nation any sort of post mortem or explanation as to why Guyana was in France to simply ‘make up’ numbers.
However, former sport journalist and sport administrator Edison Jefford has questioned the next steps and trajectory of the Godfrey Munroe-led GOA with respect to the 2028 Olympics which is slated to be held in Los Angeles, USA.
In a social media post Jefford did not hold back in his assessment of Guyana’s Olympic history and the stagnation of the GOA. “Again, in 44 years, Guyana ended in the cellar of the Olympic Games, literally obscured with no place at the bottom. Every other participating nation has a number attached to its flag, depicting its placement in the competition, except Guyana. As a nation, reposed with talent and resources, that failure continues to be unacceptable to say the least”, he said.
Jefford further stated; “Accountability begins with the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), which is the governing organisation that represents Olympic sports in Guyana at the International Olympic Committee (IOC)”.
While the former sport journalist noted that Munroe’s ascendancy to the helm of the GOA little over a year ago might not quite be an adequate time frame to see changes, he noted that Munroe’s stint thus far does not quite inspire confidence with the direction that the GOA is headed in.
“It is known, and perhaps even acceptable, that the transformation required to guarantee Guyana’s success is not an overnight process, but the early direction of Munroe’s stewardship of the association does not exude much confidence that the country’s performance will ever come to life”.
“At the very basic level, the local Olympic organisation under new leadership is yet to present to the nation a detailed plan to develop the core sports and their athletes, and ultimately create a path to getting Guyana on an Olympic podium for the first time in 48 years, close to five decades since Guyana’s last and only medal, when the Olympic Games are held again in 2028 in Los Angeles, Unites States of America”.
Jefford noted; “The association has not yet offered any insight and assessment of Guyana’s performance in Paris.
The silence of the association continues to undermine the very intent and hope of Guyanese of ever hearing their National anthem echoed throughout a stadium, seeing the Golden Arrowhead hoisted and putting this country in the global space of elite sport performance”.
“The honeymoon of the new Olympic association is over. Every Guyanese sport afficionado, ordinary or executive, is awaiting an exceptional Olympic performance and the GOA must see the urgent need to put that expectation in perspective” he concluded.
