I WANT?OUR?REPRESENTATIVES to do well and medal at the London Olympics just to see what they will be promised and what promises will be kept, especially by the powers that be.
After every major sporting success, our athletes are given plenty of sweet talk and if only a tiny bit of it was meaningful, I am sure that we would have made greater and more significant advancements in the area of sports.
Truth is, we have the cart before the horse because we waste time talking about what will be done after the fact, rather than what we need to do for our athletes before they are prepared for competition.
If that is frustrating for the ordinary layman like myself who isn’t dedicating a single minute to training, we could well imagine what it is like for the serious athletes who have legitimate dreams and aspirations and make all the sacrifices they have to, but yet don’t get the support they need to become competitive at international level.
Sometimes you wonder if certain high-ranking officials get carried away by the moment, if they just want to be politically correct depending on whom they are addressing or if some simply use the time for photo opportunities.
Key instruments
If any of the above is the case, it depreciates the value of athletes who are key instruments in nation building, and the only conclusion we can come to is that some are still making sport at sports to the detriment of the psyche of those who are willing to do anything possible to bring glory to our country.
How can we motivate our athletes to rise to the occasion in this kind of environment that seems counterproductive to what is said but isn’t backed up by action?
We can recall what was said when Obadele Thompson won bronze in the 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and, of more recent vintage, all the sweet talk when Ryan Brathwaite was crowned World Champion in the 110 metres hurdles in 2009.
Seriously, though, whatever happened to the proposed Ryan Brathwaite Fund that was to be put in place to help him and others in preparation for the London Olympics?
I truly want us to medal in London to see which other group of promising sportsmen will get set up for the proverbial fall.
I want us to medal because I want to see if the National Stadium will be refurbished and brought up to international standards and if the promise to relay the track will be kept. The present track doesn’t meet the specifications of the International Athletics Federation (IAAF), so, technically speaking, every time recorded at the Stadium is invalid.
And is this the real reason most of our athletes run inferior times at international meets compared to what they clock at local events?
Elite programme
I always thought we had a genuine elite athletes programme in place but unless he was misquoted, Minister of Sport Stephen Lashley said a few days ago that this was something now being worked on in conjunction with the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA).
So who were these athletes that have been funded for years through the same BOA and the National Sports Council? I really want us to medal in London so that we will learn that the build-up to the Olympics is a four-year process and those who by performance are identified as elite athletes must be given all the resources they need that will help them climb the podium and make us stand with them when the National Anthem is being played.
It takes much more than words to make this a reality. It calls for mutual commitment on both sides to embellish our sporting foundation.
I want us to medal in London to see if, for the umpteenth time, it will change the way we do business when it comes to sports-related issues or if we will finally complete and implement the National Sports Policy, which has been mentioned by both political administrations.
I can hardly wait!
• Andi Thornhill is an experienced award-winning
freelance journalist.