A FIVE-MEMBER team sent by the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) arrived in Havana, Cuba, Saturday last, to begin an historic three-week training camp in preparation for the important 2023 Pan American Games in Chile, which will serve as the first qualifying route for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

The cadre of pugilists, which for the first time in history features a female fighter, consists of Desmond Amsterdam [79 KG], Keevin Allicock [57 KG], Emmanuel Pompey [92 KG], Joel Williamson [63.5 KG], and Alesha Jackman [66 KG]. Resident Cuban trainer Francisco Roldan, who arrived in Cuba days prior, will supervise the training regimen.
The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and corporate giant John Fernandes Limited abetted the GBA in making this historic venture a reality.

The Panam Games, which will be staged in Santiago, Chile, from October 20th to November 5th, serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. Boxing is slated to be staged from October 21st–27th at the La Reina Community Sports Centre, with the two respective divisional finalists securing automatic berths.
GBA President Steve Ninvalle said, “History in several aspects has been created with the arrival of the team in Cuba.

“ This is the largest team to be sent to Cuba, much less a regional training camp, in recent memory. Even more from a momentous perspective, it’s the first time that a local female pugilist has ever participated in a training camp in Cuba, which is indicative of the importance the GBA places on the female aspect of the discipline. Praise must also be afforded to the GOA and John Fernandes Limited, who were pivotal to this undertaking being realized.”

He further said, “The commencement of this training camp highlights the emphasis and importance that the GBA is placing on the Pan American Games, which serve as a qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Years prior, our expectations had to be tempered, given the varying manner of our preparatory phase.

“However, training camps of this quality and nature can provide a more realistic conviction with regard to our expectations. The GBA constantly strives to afford our fighters the ideal environment to achieve our respective objectives, and we believe that this historic training camp will afford the structured ecosystem that is required to realise our goals.”
Guyana’s previous participation in this prestigious event occurred at the 2019 edition. Allicock was the discipline’s only representative in Lima, Peru. Clive Atwell secured Guyana’s last medal in the sport at the 2007 edition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He won bronze in the 54-kg segment. Prior to the aforementioned, Guyana won two bronze medals in the 1991 Games in Havana, Cuba, via Poole [81 KG] and Stephan Rose [51 KG].
In total, Guyana has captured one silver and seven bronze medals in the history of the event, which commenced in 1951. This is second only to Jamaica in the English-speaking Caribbean, which has captured a total of 11 accolades.