TORONTO, Canada — In 2002, Aliann Pompey created quite a stir by winning a gold medal in the women’s 400 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. She also captured a Silver at the 2010 games in New Delhi, India and a bronze at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. Few Guyanese are however unaware of the versatility of this outstanding athlete and four-time Olympian who continues to place her beloved country on the map not only in the field of athletics, albeit in an administrative capacity, but also as an academic and in the field of modeling.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Chronicle, Pompey, who was recently elected to the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) Athlete Commission, disclosed how honoured she was to be part of that august body, among other things. “More than anything it says that my peers in the Region trust my judgment and believe that I will act in their best interest. That’s a sobering thought and I am up to the task.”
An Adjunct Professor at Manhattan College, Pompey is currently the sprints and hurdles coach and recruiting coordinator at St. John’s University in New York City. She boasted that “this year one of my athletes ran on the Puerto Rican national team at the Toronto Pan Am Games in the 4×400 metres and the team placed sixth. Another competed for Canada, also at Pan Am in the 100 metres and 4×100 metres relay. She was also the manager/coach of Guyana’s three-man athletic squad and served in the same capacity for the junior team at the Pan Am Juniors in Edmonton, Canada.
Touching on her stint at St John’s University, Pompey declared that she absolutely loves working there – “it never feels like work. There’s a supportive environment, and I find myself being encouraged to chase my dreams. I wasn’t sure after competing for so long that I’d go into coaching. But here we are, and I love it!”
Before taking up her post at St John’s, Pompey worked as Assistant Director of Armory College Prep and was then promoted to Director during her five-year attachment. She brings a world-class athletic resume to the PASO Athlete Commission following her nomination, and subsequent election, by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).
According to Pompey, while she was competing, she used her time to explore several career paths until she found her passion – a mix of youth, sports and education. “My educational and work background has provided me with a unique perspective, and a versatility that allows me to be successful in the fields on non-profit management, education, and coaching.
However, it hasn’t been all running for the lanky athlete who obtained her Bachelor of Science (BS), Finance, General in 1999 and her Master of Business Administration (MBA), Finance, four years later, both while attending Manhattan College. While there, Pompey was also captain of the track and field team, served as president of the African, Caribbean and American Club and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
An Adjunct Professor at Manhattan College – Kinesiology Department, Riverdale, New York for the past two years, Pompey has been teaching track and field classes and her tasks include organising and presenting instructional material at scheduled times and places in accordance with the College Catalog descriptions, course syllabi and outlines, and class schedules; ensuring students have the opportunity to practice what they learn in real-life settings (coaching, participating in clinics or track meets and maintaining records of student attendance, student progress, and grade distributions.
In 2012, Pompey was featured on the front page of GEM Magazine and also in the ‘Uptown’ section of New York Daily News while her athletic accomplishments and volunteer work were also highlighted on Bronx News 12. During the same year, she also gave the Commencement Speech at Validus Prep Academy’s graduation and was part of Petro-Canada national campaign advertisement for the Summer Olympic Games in London.
Another of her proud accolades happened in 2009 when she was inducted into Manhattan College’s Athletic Hall of Fame and featured in print advertisement for Seven Seas Joint Care supplements
In 2007, Pompey’s photos were used for a Disney/ESPN online advertisement for summer athletic programme for children and she was again in the limelight in advertisement for Centennial Olympic Museum at Atlanta History Centre.
Prior to that, she also stole the spotlight in the Equinox Gym summer newsletters in 2006 while in 2000, she was part of the Body-double for Australian Olympic Champion Cathy Freeman in a Nike commercial
Between September 2012 – June 2014, Pompey served as Director of Operations at Armory College Prep where she was required to direct the college’s prep programme, which in turn provided support services to students from New York City’s ‘high-need’ public high schools, including and not limited to SAT prep classes, financial aid counseling and college tours.
Pompey was also tasked with developing and overseeing college preparatory curriculum for high school students; managing a full time staff of two, part-time staff of four as well as seasonal employees, interns and volunteers;

Her other duties included securing funding from donors and foundations to ensure the programme remains at no cost to participants and working with the executive staff to ensure one hundred per cent Board support of the programme.
During the period, she was also able to achieve one hundred per cent HS graduation rate and 95 per cent matriculation rate while also being in liaison with service providers, parents, admissions and financial aid officers, coaches and parents
As a Development Associate at Harlem Renaissance High School, from one year (2007-2008), Pompey’s main responsibilities included fundraising events which generated 60 per cent of funding needed for building of new school library; managing partnership network with corporations and community-based organisation; assembling and serve as liaison for 11-member Advisory Board; organising a variety of multi-cultural student support events, including American Express resume writing workshop and De La Vega mural painting event.
Between 2006 – 2007, she was Teacher/Development Associate at the same institution where she identified and wrote several grants including: Columbia University Community and the Child and Adult Care Food Programme (CACFP) grants which were successfully funded; worked with the Director of Development to document fundraising activities and compile reports to present to senior leadership and created and implemented nine unit Spanish curriculum and six unit Sport Physical Education curriculum for first and second grades.

BACKGROUND
Named Aliann Tabitha Omalara Pompey by her Guyanese parents Leon Eric and Deborah Pompey, the 37-year-old, who was born on March 9, 1978, left her homeland at the age of 14. She has represented Guyana at the Summer Olympics on four separate occasions (2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and has competed at the World Championships in Athletics on five occasions.
Pompey still holds the South American indoor record for the 400 metres while her personal best time is 50.71 seconds, achieved in August 2009 at the World Championships in Berlin.
Pompey confessed that initially she was uninterested in track and field, but began to take running seriously in 1995, quickly reducing her 400 metres best time to 53 seconds and winning the state championships. She won the 400 metres at the 2000 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship, becoming the Manhattan Jaspers’ first-ever female national champion.
As for the future, Pompey pointed out that she would like to see the athletic landscape of Guyana change so drastically for the better, that it is unrecognisable from when she first started. “We have the talent, we can get the resources, we just need a clear vision and commitment to the said vision.”
One of seven siblings, the others being Alison, Delon, Timothy, Gilbertine, Tyler and Joshua, Pompey posted on her website that she left Guyana as a teenager “and visited every chance I got. At the moment, I live, work and play in New York. I am unmarried, and plan to be until I get married.”
By Frederick Halley