The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) on Tuesday took the time to honour the strides made by the Guyanese contingent who recently returned from the 2018 South American Games, which were held in Cochabamba, Bolivia from May 26 to June 8.
With stellar achievements such as Guyana’s first international javelin medal and Guyana’s first boxing medals at the games, the 11-member contingent was praised for making their homeland proud. Leading the acclamation was GOA President KA Juman Yassin.
“They’ve done extremely well. I’m very proud of them,” he stated, wearing a broad smile.
The Guyanese contingent comprised badminton player Narayan Ramdhani, table tennis players Shemar Britton, Chelsea Edghill, Natalie Cummings and Trenace Lowe; boxers Colin Lewis and Keevin Allicock, and track and field athletes Winston George, Akeem Stewart, Jenea McCalmon and Leslain Baird. Of that team, five athletes returned home with medals, making for a commendable contingent-to-medal ratio.
Bronze Medal winner Keevin Allicock (right)
Keavon Bess was entrusted with the demanding position of Chef de mission, a task that the GOA President said he executed well. “He did an exceedingly good job. His reports were accurate, I think some of them were written at 2am, but every day we got a report from him,” Yassin said.
In his remarks, Bess disclosed that he saw tremendous potential on display from the Guyanese athletes. “Overall, the team was easy to manage. I gained a lot of experience and I look forward to being in a position to help the development of sport in Guyana and more so to help the young ones that I see have a lot of potential in them.”
Leslain Baird’s javelin throw of 78.65 metres landed him a silver medal, while track and field teammates George and McCalmon secured bronze in their disciplines. Competing in the light welterweight and bantamweight categories respectively, Colin Lewis and Keevin Allicock both managed to cop bronze medals.
Citing hindrances such as the altitude, thin air and the extremely cold weather conditions, most of the athletes believed that they could have done better in familiar conditions. As such, Ramdhani noted that if the athletes could be allowed to arrive in host countries earlier, they would have time to adapt to the climate and adjust their game accordingly. This sentiment was echoed by all of the athletes and coaches present.
