The five-person party of four lifters - Shondell King, Sean Cozier, William Langford and June Belle - accompanied by Manager/Coach Aubrey Smith departed Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Saturday, 29th June at 15:55 hrs on BWIA flight #424 with connections to London on BW900 arriving at Heathrow International Airport at 11:50 hrs on 30 June 2002. The team was met by officials of the Guyana High Commission in London along with Mr Herman Nurse and we were taken to our place of stay, the Guyana High Commission in London. The High Commission had provided the accommodation for our stay prior to the team going to Manchester for a three-week period to enable us to complete our preparation for the Games at the Crystal Palace Training Centre in London. The period spent in London prior to our going to Manchester made the difference in the entire team's performance at the Games.
At the Crystal Palace, the team was able to work under the very watchful eyes of Mr Keith Morgan, one of the top coaches in England and his patience and encourage- ment along with his advice was really welcome by all. The three-week stint allowed the lifters to be able to adjust fully to the English weather condition of which they wilted under during the first two weeks of their stay. The weather was very unfriendly at first and the lifters were unable to cope with it in particular, Sean Cozier, but they all adjusted very well afterwards.
The Coach, Keith Morgan was also able to make some very good adjustment to the technique of the lifters especially Shondell King, Sean Cozier and June Belle, and to a lesser extent William Langford and Julian McWatt. These adjustment are responsible for the way that the lifters performed eventually at the Games and it showed that our lifters still have much to learn in order to be able to fulfill their potentials and become more competitive at the international level.
At the Commonwealth Games, Guyana took to the stage on Thursday 1st August competing in the 77kg via William Langford. Competing in his third international competition, Langford performed creditably to snatch 117.5 kg and jerked 142.5 kg to record a total of 260kg which eventually placed him 7th in the category from a field of fourteen - his personal best and National records. On the same day in the 63kg class. June Belle snatch 57.5 kg and jerked 77.5 kg for a total of 135kg, these lifts being her personal best and placed 8th out of a field of ten persons. Later also in the evening Julian Mc Watt and Sean Cozier competing in the 85kg class from a field of seventeen placed 8th and 10th respectively. Mc Watt snatched 130kg and jerked 152.5 kg for a total 282.5 kg and in the process establishing new national records, which Cozier snatch 125kg a personal best and managed to jerk only 145kg to record a total of 270kg falling short of his previous best by 2.5 kg.Shondell King competing the next day in the 69kg class missed two of her snatches to record only a 65kg successful attempt and jerked 87.5kg missing one in the process to record a total of 152.5kg and in the process setting new national records. She placed 8th out of 10 persons.
That the Guyana team was able to record an 80% ratio of successful attempts was in no way just luck, but it was the culmination of a bold attempt by the GAWA to have the lifters given the opportunity of being able to work in the same type of surroundings before hand and be able to have the opportunity of a level playing field being offered to them for the first time ever. During competition the lifters were under immense pressure to perform well given that this was their first major championship at that level and the performance by all the lifters at the Games were outstanding. Ninety-two male lifters and fifty-one female lifters competed at the Games and the Guyana's men's team placed 13th overall from a field of 32 countries.
It is important to note that the expertise of Mr. Keith Morgan ably assisted by Mr. Herman Nurse, our assistant Coach for the Games played a great part in our achievement. These two gentlemen were very much attentive and encouraged our lifters, every step of the way and Keith Morgan was at the competition venue to witness first hand the efforts of our lifters and gave them very encouraging words even between the snatch and clean and jerk period and this very much helped Julian Mc Watt and in particular Shondell King, who seemed to have lost all her composure after missing two attempts at snatch, but afterwards was able to execute two perfect lifts in the clean and jerk.
After observing the lifting of the team members, several officials including Dr. Tamas Ajan, IWF President expressed the view that the two younger members of the team could be a force to be reckoned with if they were to work harder and be able to believe more in themselves and also expressed the wish to be able to see them in Melbourne in 2006. The captain Julian McWatt also expressed his satisfaction at the Games overall performance and pledged to work harder to improve on his total by the end of the year.
At the Congress of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation at which 22 nations were present, I was elected Vice President, Caribbean for the period 2002-2006.
The following persons were also elected.
The accommodation provided was of an acceptable standard while the camaraderie among competitors, officials and guests was such that our stay in Manchester and in London was thoroughly enjoyable. It is worthy of note that High Commission hosted a reception for the team before our departure to Manchester, and another reception for the entire Guyana team before returning to Guyana.
I also had some useful discussion with Tamas Ajan pertaining to our development programme over the next two years and sought to solicit assistance in this regard. He advised that I put up a request for assistance in writing and the IWF would study same. He also expressed pleasure at the progress we were making and stated also that the GOA and the Ministry of Sport should endeavour to assist in every aspect.
The efforts and success of the team was encouraging to say the least but were it not for the support of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Guyana High Commission in London, and most importantly the financial assistance of the Guyana Charity Ball Committee, Federation of Guyanese Nationals, Guyana Friends Association, Alvin Kallicharran Foundation among others, who ensured that our stay in London was a reality and ensured that the team was adequately accommodated in every regard.
The support of Mr. Keith Morgan, Coach at the Crystal Palace Training Centre was of the highest standard and his assistance is immeasurable without which our team would not have been able to perform at the level of which they did in Manchester.The support of Mr. Herman Nurse was also a major factor in both the administrative and technical areas in dealing with the entire team and was very much valued by myself in every regard, especially in Manchester. The support of the team Captain Julian McWatt must be commended without which a number of administrative and technical aspects could not have been accomplished and he was fully supportive of the efforts of the team Manager and Assistant Coach and Coach Keith Morgan at all times. It was Mr. Mc Watt who firstly floated the idea of the team being able to come to London for pre-training at the Crystal Palace under the tutelage of Keith Morgan since November 2001 and with the support of the Guyanese Charities in London, this idea was made a reality.
At the conclusion of the training session at the Crystal Palace, an evaluation was sought from the Coach Keith Morgan and this evaluation is attached. It is my firm view that if the opportunity arises and can be pursued to reality that more stints of this nature be given to the lifters to afford them the opportunity of competing on a level playing field and to be able to afford themselves to be able to raise their level of competitiveness on the lifting stage so that we may be able to garner that coveted international medal sooner rather than later
As regards the members of the team, though their performances may have been satisfactory overall, the best performances came from William Langford and Julian McWatt and these two lifters were the most disciplined, focused and determined lifters in every regard and it is hoped generally that the lifters would be motivated to improve on their performances in the very near future for selection to represent Guyana at upcoming international events.
In closing, I take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Guyana Olympic Association, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Ltd, BWIA West Indies Airways, Omai Gold Mines Ltd., Ministry of Health, Banks DIH Ltd., Courts (Guyana)Ltd., Frankie Comacho, Abdools RMS, the National Sports Commission and Toolsie Persaud Ltd for their much valued support in assisting the team to be able to attend the 2002 Commonwealth Games.