Six Guyanese athletes along with a coach who are stranded in foreign lands are said to be in good care, as the National Sports Commission (NSC) has sought to make provisions for them.
Director of Sport, Christopher Jones
While it was known that four boxers and a coach who had travelled to Cuba for a three-month stint at Olympic Qualifier training since January were stuck in that Spanish-speaking island, two footballers who are in Miami last week made their plight known.
The stranded boxers are Keevin Allicock, Colin Lewis, Desmond Amsterdam and Dennis Thomas, and the Coach is Terrence Poole. The footballers stuck in Miami are Jeremy Garrett and Curtez Kellman, who are currently in the United States on scholarship.
In Cuba, the boxing contingent is said to be housed at a villa that is utilized by the Guyana Embassy, and the two footballers in Miami are being accommodated in a hotel room, with the Guyanese Consulate footing the expenses.
“I can safely say that the athletes are under the care of the Guyana Government, and that they and their families have been informed as it relates to the current situation, and I am in contact on a daily basis. As soon as the present situation is improved and our airports are opened again, they will be returned home safely, but rest assured they are in good care, even as it relates to the present global pandemic COVID-19”, Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, affirmed to media operatives.
However, the fate of the Guyanese athletes still hangs in the balance as they await the reopening of the Cheddi Jagan and Eugene F. Correia International Airports, which is the only way they can hope to return home.
