EVERYONE LOVES TO win; so we sent our 11 athletes to the 31st Olympiad in Rio de Janiero expecting them to capture medals. Such was the optimism that even the vice-president of the Athletic Association of Barbados (AAB), Noel Lynch, a former Olympian, predicted two medals and at least four finalists.
The team failed to live up to these expectations. Not a single member got past the first round and only Akela Jones achieved a personal best performance – in the javelin segment of the heptathlon.
This has led to disappointment, even anger, in some quarters, with people voicing their disillusionment with the generally poor results and some calling for heads to roll.
While we understand the frustration and welcome any healthy analysis on what may have gone wrong and what can be done to prepare a more competitive squad for the 2020 Tokyo Games, Barbadians need to place our team’s performance within the context of the Rio Olympics. That is, of the 206 national contingents that marched into the Maracana Stadium for the opening ceremony, 131 – or nearly two-thirds – returned home without a medal. These include countries like Pakistan, which has a population of 193 million. Furthermore, similarly large populated countries, like Nigeria (187 million) and The Philippines (102 million), secured only one medal.
So while we should always demand the best from our athletes, we need to understand that sometimes even their greatest efforts may not be enough to make it onto the podium.
That’s why Obadele Thompson’s perspective on the team’s performance and the concerns about the administration of athletics should not be dismissed, as is often done when those in control in all areas of endeavour in Barbados are challenged.
Thompson is Barbados’ only individual Olympic medal winner and was a successful professional athlete for many years. He therefore speaks from personal experience and should be given the opportunity to outline his ideas and, if possible, to make an input.
The AAB may have good reasons for what it does, but it should not ignore Thompson’s query about our Olympic qualifying period being shorter than the International Olympic Committee’s period for eligibility. This precluded hurdlers Shane Brathwaite and Greggmar Swift, whose times were consistently better than hurdlers who advanced to the semi-finals in Rio. The AAB should address this frontally.
It needs to answer, too, why sprinter Sada Williams was reportedly not provided with the medical oversight needed, and competed with a niggling injury close to the Olympics, resulting in severely injuring herself. And it should explain why as many officials as athletes go to Games.
The AAB needs to recognise that without the confidence of Barbadians, it would be difficult to get greater support for athletics. After all, though athletes need modern sports facilities and equipment, coaches well versed in the latest training methods, and additional resources to compete globally, they also need to have more committed former athletes on board to mentor and assist. To ignore this is to hurt all involved.