FOUNDING member of the Guyana Amateur Weightlifting Association (GAWA) Sydney Paul will be laid to rest today.The ceremony for the late Paul, also known as: ‘Sandow’, ‘Sandy’ or ‘Skipper’ will commence with viewing at the Merriman’s Funeral Home from 11:00hrs to 12:00hrs after which it will proceed to the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue for further viewing from 12:30hrs to 14:30hrs.
His body will then be taken to the St Pius Church for the funeral service from 15:00hrs after which the body will be interred at the Le Repentir cemetery.
Paul was one of the founding members of this association in 1940 and also was a former vice-president and national coach.
Paul was committed to this sport in Guyana and produced many lifters over the years including Kevil Daily, a silver medallist in the 1947 World Weightlifting Championships and Guyana’s (then British Guiana) only World Weightlifting Awardee.
He also led Guyana in championing many competitions at the Commonwealth, Pan American and Central American and Caribbean Games.
After a lack of interest shown over a period of time, weightlifting was revived by Sydney and the late Cecil Ramsingh in 1990 with a championship, introducing female lifters and a new generation of male lifters. Sydney was also the first Guyanese to become an International Weightlifting Federation Class One Referee.
His love for this sport also led him to construct The Sandow Gym’ at his East La Penitence home, where he managed to project his admiration for the weightlifting tycoons, the Bacchus Brothers, and impart his knowledge and skills to many upcoming weightlifters.
His indelible mark in weightlifting over most of his 96 years of life is well noted and he was the recipient of many awards including a medal from the National Weightlifting Federation in Hungary.