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Allicock, Jackman puts Guyana on show at Pan Am Games today
…Ninvalle wishes boxers well ahead of Olympic qualification
By Rawle Toney
Kaieteur Sports – Boxers Alesha Jackman and Keevin Allicock will step into the ring today in Santiago, Chile, marking the commencement of Guyana’s campaign at this year’s Pan Am Games.
Twenty athletes, in the disciplines of Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Swimming, Weightlifting, and Esports, will represent Guyana at the 19th edition of the games, which traces its origins back to 1951.
While this will be Jackman’s debut appearance at the Pan Am Games, Allicock is determined to surpass his performance from 2019, where he narrowly lost to Lucas Fernández of Uruguay in the 56kg round-of-16.
With the Pan Am Games serving as a direct qualification event for the Paris Olympics, Allicock embarks on his journey to return to the same stage where he first competed in Tokyo.
Allicock will face Panama’s Javier Ibarguen in the Men’s 57kg round-of-16.
On the other hand, Jackman has established herself as the leading female pugilist in the Caribbean and will look out-punch Argentina’s Noelia Perez in the women’s 66kg category.
Alesha Jackman (left) and Keevin Allicock will be the first Guyanese athletes on show at the Pan Am Games.
Coach Terrence Poole Ms, believes that Jackman’s exposure, including her attendance at the World Championship, is part of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) push to develop female boxing in Guyana.
Regarding Allicock, Poole said he believes the country’s prized boxer is experienced enough to navigate his way to the podium, especially taking into consideration the outcome of his bout at the 2019 games.
Poole is also a medallist at the Pan Am Games, where he, along with boxer Stephan Rose were the only two medallists for Guyana at the 1991 event in Cuba where they grabbed bronze.
Allicock, Jackman, along with Desmond Amsterdam (92kg) and Joel Williamson (63kg), had a rigorous preparation for the Pan Am Games during their three-week training camp in Cuba.
Meanwhile, president of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle, stressed the importance of the boxers’ commitment and determination, combined with their training, in achieving the perfect preparation for the tournament.
“It’s a very important tournament that’s why we dug really deep to get them to Cuba for that three training programme,” Ninvalle said. “The GBA expect good coming out of this, we expect that they can win some medals and get a place for the 2024 Olympics.”
While Martin Dias (weightlifting) and James Wren-Gilks (athletics) are the only athletes to have ever won gold at the Pan Am Games, boxing has been a consistent source of success for Guyana, accounting for seven of the 18 medals won since the country’s inaugural participation in the 1959 games held in Chicago, USA.
The last boxing medal at the Pan Am Games was secured by Clive Atwell, who earned a bronze in the Men’s 54kg category at the 2007 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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