WOMEN’S national record-holder Brenessa Thompson and World Junior silver medallist Kadecia Baird said that their below-par performances at last Saturday’s AP Invitational were due in part to the lack of money and support, and they’ve just about had enough.

Thompson, in particular, is just about ready to shop around elsewhere, even hinting at possibly not representing Guyana at World Championships next month.
“Over the summer time I was really broke because they are supposed to like support us in a kind of way and they haven’t, so how you expect us to come out here and do our best when ya’ll not trying to help us.

Other countries do it for their athletes so I could easily not do it for this country, like I don’t have to go to the World (Championships) and I’m so serious. That means next year I could run for a different country and I’m so serious,” the women’s 100m and 200m record-holder said.
“They always want to talk about how good you doing in the U.S. but ya’ll don’t do anything for us but talk. That is annoying. My rent is high as hell because they don’t want to support us, so every day it’s going up.”

Thompson, who last year won the first women’s sprint double AP Invitational, finished last in the women’s 100m this year, with a time of 11.87 seconds. Thompson has qualified for the 100m and 200m at World Championships next month, where world great Usain Bolt is set to bring a close to his time as an athlete.
Thompson had opted out of the Douglas and Associates women’s 200m, on Saturday, suffering hamstring damage. Baird, who was in the 200m, finished eighth overall with a time of 23.72 seconds, very much dissatisfied with how she did.

“My 200m was terrible. I didn’t push I didn’t do anything that I needed to do, so it wasn’t a good race overall. My body just didn’t feel up to par because, well, Guyana is not providing money for us to take care of our bodies so we can’t train properly. We don’t eat properly so that’s why,” cited the 22-year-old.
Baird has only qualified for the women’s 200m at World Championships. Notwithstanding Saturday’s performance, however, she is still optimistic about how she will do just a few weeks from now.

“Well my training has been good and I think I will do very well, but we just need money to have food and buy supplements to take care of ourselves,” she said.
Both Thompson and Baird are attending Texas A&M, a NCAA Division I college. Neither has received funding this year. However up to last year Baird was one among four athletes who were recipients of Olympic Solidarity funding,

This saw the athletes receive US$1000 each month, for some two years in the lead-up to the Rio Olympics. The other recipients were Stephan James, George and Adam Harris.
However, Baird did not participate in last year’s Olympics after she never made the qualifying time in any event. Neither did James, nor Harris. Guyana was represented by George, Thompson, Aaliyah Abrams and Troy Doris at last year’s Olympics.