Bradley Ally’s health might’ve failed him but the country’s Olympic body won’t be following suit.
At least two high-ranking officials of the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) have publicly declared their organization’s commitment to the medal hopeful ahead of next year’s London Games in spite of Ally’s health concerns.
Operations manager Glyne Clarke confirmed the stance in an interview with SUNSPORT after receiving word of Ally’s steadily improving condition from his father Raymond Ally.
“We were worried when we first heard of his illness and are still a bit concerned, but we are definitely committed to supporting Bradley,” said Clarke.
“We’ve agreed to fund him while he goes through his therapy and, based on communication from his father, he seems to be recovering well in Florida.
“I don’t know if Bradley had ever stopped training, but his father says he is in the pool and in the gym, so it would seem that he’s still in preparation for the Olympics.”
His sentiment followed similar comments made by head of the Olympic Academy, Dave Farmer, who said that Ally still had the BOA’s backing during Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the ongoing Swimming Short Course National Championships.
Speculation grew over Ally’s possible absence from the 2012 Olympic Games over a week ago when it was discovered the 23-year-old standout was suffering from a fatigue-related illness during his training at home.
But the senior Ally publicly quashed any such doubts over his son’s availability for the Olympics, and Bradley returned to his original training base in Florida for treatment of the undisclosed ailment.
It threatened to become a major setback towards Barbados’ medal hopes as Ally was the country’s lone athlete to qualify for the summer games at that time.
And the swimmer was looking to add the 400-metre individual medley to his list, after he had met the qualifying standard in the 100m backstroke and the 200m individual medley.
“Prior to his returning to Florida, we met with his father and based on the information given by him, Bradley is expected to recover within a two- to three-month period, so we’re just hoping for the best,” said Clarke.
“I can say we’re cautiously optimistic.”
A double gold medallist at last year’s Pan American and Caribbean Games, Ally reached the semi-finals of the 400-metre individual medley and is expected to perform well in the 200m IM.
Sprinter Shakera Reece also met the qualifying standard for the Olympics when she set a new national record of 11.26 seconds in the 100 metres during her bronze medal run at the Pan Am Games.
But under the qualifying process of the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados, Reece will have to reach that mark between January and June of 2012 to be eligible for the Olympics.