THE appeal for change in the sport of athletics in Guyana was made boldly by former Jamaican Olympian Grace Jackson when the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) held its annual Appreciation and Awards Dinner on Friday evening at the Georgetown Club.
Jackson, who won silver in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul Korea when she competed in the 200 metres final, was the guest speaker at the event where the GOA paid tribute to persons who have made sterling contributions to Olympic sports in Guyana over the years.
“Guyana, it’s time to change, just do it,” Jackson exclaimed as she completed what was a speech based on Jamaica’s success in the sport and the commitment its athletes have made to succeed and how Guyana has the same potential if athletes can only work towards achieving their goals.
The name of World Citizen Usain Bolt (100 and 200 metres World Record holder) was the pick for discussion at some point since, according to Jackson, athletics has grown to become a mainstream sport that can take anyone from poverty to wealth but “it’s also important to have a solid foundation. It’s on you as administrators to make sure that those athletes are properly nurtured and well taken care of”.
The brawny 6’1” Jackson also spoke of the stages in which athletes can grow and used herself as reference, noting that she started in the pits (long jump) while in high school, before finding a liking for the hurdles, before settling down in 100m and 200m events.
Jackson, also Manager of Student Services for Sports at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica,  said that academia and sports go hand in hand and in Jamaica “We do not sacrifice one for the other.
“While we want to see our athletes perform well, it’s also important that they have some level of education because anything can happen in the sport and as such he or she must have something to fall back on, so balancing both of them is very important”
She also spoke of how Jamaica was able to use its icons in music and sports to help sell the country’s image and said that since Guyana is more diverse in culture than Jamaica is, the same could be done over a process of time and commitment by those in authority.
The 49-year-old Jackson is known on the ‘Island of Wood and Water’ for her achievements in athletics with her pinnacle coming in the 1988 Olympic Games where she ran second to the late Florence Griffith-Joyner in the women’s 200 metres beating then World Champion Silke Moller, Heike Drechsler and fellow Jamaican Merlene Ottey.
This came following her running outside of the medal bracket in the 1984 Olympiad. She also reached the final of the 200 metres at the 1992 Games held in Barcelona, Spain.
Jackson also won a bronze medal at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships and followed that up with silver at the same event in 1989.
The three-time Olympian, whose academic achievements include a degree in Accounts and Computer Science (post-graduate), was bestowed with the Order of Distinction by the Jamaica government for her contribution to sports on the Island.
Meanwhile, also making brief remarks at the ceremony was Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony, who spoke of the Government’s commitment to sports and its development in Guyana and noted that the construction of Guyana’s first synthetic track would be testimony of those assurances.
The GOA presented plaques of appreciation to Derrick Smith, Gerald Gouveia (hockey), George Humphrey (cycling), Josephine Whitehead (squash), Jeanette Lovell (netball coach) and Mary Chung (swimming), Shirley Hooper (athletics) and Winston Callender (football).
Rawle Toney was presented with the Sports Journalist Award for outstanding coverage of Olympic Sports during 2009.