Guyana’s Olympics gold medal bid once again denied?

Aug 14, 2016 Sports

---

By Michael Benjamin

Anyone applying for a (USA) visa after numerous failed attempts could relate to the frustration or even anger of being denied the document and some persons go to the extreme to be successful. Some pay millions to go through the famous ‘back track’ route while others risk life and limb to attain their goal.
Human beings could be intensely determined whenever they wish to accomplish something and history is replete with those that battled life’s many vicissitudes and eventually prevailed. However, it is also sound reasoning that one must adhere to the understanding that unless the applications are different the end result will always be the same.
Ever since time immemorial, Guyanese sports personalities have attempted to win an Olympic Gold medal and like an application for a non-immigrant visa, have been turned down (denied). Yet as the years progress local administrators continue to apply the same archaic strategies and are astonished when they produce the same results.
The modern Olympic Games were founded in 1894 when Pierre de Coubertin sought to promote international understanding through sporting competition yet it took Guyanese athletes just over a century before they made an impression at these games when, in 1980, bantamweight pugilist, Michael Anthony Parris, returned to Guyana amidst much pomp and ceremony after winning a bronze medal at the Olympiad in Moscow. The feat was certainly not of the best at that level since Parris had failed to clinch the silver, or even the coveted gold medal. Nevertheless, it was a momentous occasion for all Guyanese and the nation was excited. Parris returned home to a hero’s welcome and paraded along the streets of Georgetown where thousands shared the joy of the moment.
The Government of that era, headed by President LFS Burnham, fittingly rewarded Parris with a house (where he still resides) and the nation felt forever grateful to their hero.
Four years later, in 1984, Gordon Carew attended the Los Angeles Olympics and successfully got past the 1st and 2nd rounds before losing his quarter final bout. Unfortunately, most of the team chose to defect and Carew was the only competitor that returned.
I was merely 18 years old and in the embryonic stages of my (amateur) boxing career when Parris returned to Guyana with the accolade. Despite ending the tournament as third best in his division, Parris was promoted to a local hero status and an excited nation welcomed him at the Timehri Airport, parading him along the streets of Georgetown where thousands shared the momentous achievement.
There was absolutely no acknowledgement of Carew’s patriotism; he literally crept into the country and became lost among the crowd yet Guyanese were angered by the large number of defections and the scathing remarks were many. Ironically, no one hailed Carew’s ‘patriotism’ and it was as though it never really mattered.
A slick boxer of immense class, Carew went on to battle in the amateur ranks and after a tough tournament against a Cuban boxer during an exchange programme, he vacated the amateur arena and entered the professional stage. In those days, professional fights were few and far and Carew left for Barbados to better his fortunes. Things did not work out for him and he returned to Guyana a few years later, the worst for wear. Soon afterwards he hung up his gloves.
Meanwhile, the defectors settled in their adopted homeland and have improved their fortunes and are still living comfortably. I would prefer not to discuss Carew’s fortunes and his reward for his demonstration of staunch patriotism.
Over the years, several other boxers have represented this country at the prestigious Olympics with similar negative results. Our respective flag bearers were athlete Aliann Pompey (2000 & 2004), swimmer Niall Roberts (2008), boxer, John Douglas (1996), athlete, Winston George (2012), boxer, Alfred Thomas (1988), athlete, Earl Haley (1984) and in 1972, judo practitioner, Gordon Sankies performed the honours.
Following the initial celebrations, Parris, as far as I know, never received any added consolation for his achievement. Last year October he attended the World Olympians Forum (WOF) in Moscow where he had joined other dignitaries from around the world in discussions aimed at improving the fortunes of fellow Olympians like himself. The sad thing is that Parris’ selection was in default after Geoff Sankies, who had been Guyana’s representative, fell ill and could not make the trip.
Fast forward to 2016 and once again Guyana has fielded a team to the Olympics currently underway in Brazil. One notes that once again boxing, the sport that has brought Guyana Olympic glory as well as other prestigious accolades at other similar events will not be represented since our boxers all failed at the qualifying stage. In some countries this would have generated a national inquiry.
Our swimming contingent consists of Jamila Sanmoogan, Hannibal Gaskin and Dolphin Swim Club coach Paul Mahaica, a representative of the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA).
Sanmoogan and Gaskin, with entry times slower than the qualifying mark, were accepted by dint of the universality places afforded by the governing body of swimming worldwide, Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA).
Gaskin took to the pool last Wednesday and created quite a (local) stir after he had placed second in the 100M heats in a time of 58.57secs. Naturally Guyanese were consumed with euphoria until (sports) journalist, Rawle Toney, clarified the issue. Gaskin placed 2nd in a 3 man race in the 100m butterfly heat but has registered a slower time than that of the Youth Games last year. As such, his time was not enough to see him through to the next round. Once again, Guyana’s hopes of breaking that Olympics gold medal jinx have been dashed.
There are still a few local swimmers yet to contest in the event but the unbelievably high standard exhibited by the likes of Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 26 medals, and other top notched swimmers, certainly does not spiral our hopes. Further, athletes, Winston George and Brenessa Thompson were the two latest casualties in the 400m and 100m respectively.
St Lucia Amateur Boxing Association President, David Christopher, has travelled to Brazil with a contingent from that country and he opined that the standard of boxing on the whole is in a bad state. “The bouts here in Rio are of poor quality; there is nothing much in the area of skill and craft here.
“The boxers fighting in the lighter weights (56-59, 60-64-69 kg) offer a little hope but as I said, it’s nothing like the old school,” was how he put it. Yet local punchers failed at the qualifying rounds!
Cricket coach, Mark Harper, lamented the fact that Parris is now forced to earn his living driving a taxi and wondered aloud if he may not be eligible for a government grant. Another popular cricketer, Neil Barry, spoke of what sports could do for the human index even as he lamented the (lack of) foresight of local (sports) administrators.
The Olympics games represent the highest level of sport excellence and most countries invest heavily (and intelligently) to accrue major accolades. Several Caribbean countries have managed to win Olympic gold medals including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and quite recently, Grenada, among others. Guyana is still in the wilderness hoping for that lucky break.
Unfortunately, there will be no lucky breaks; we will be required to go the conventional route that requires shrewd planning, stringent preparation and unerring sacrifices. One must not ignore the all important ingredient, adequate funding. This is a reality we cannot evade nor avoid. Otherwise, 4 years down the line when we field another team of hopefuls at the 2020 Olympics, our application will be reviewed and once again we will hear those dreaded words, ‘Denied!’

---

---