Former athlete talks sports in Madewini
GUYANA has always been known for its athletic talents. From cricketers like Carl Hooper, Colin Craft, and Shivnarine Chandrapaul, to today’s athletes like Olympic swimmer, Aleka Persaud and the Baracara Boywonder, Shamar Joseph. Sports have always been a part of us; they run through our veins the way we run races. In her high school years, Sonya France was the embodiment of Guyanese sporting excellence.
She ran track better than most and was slated to become a phenomenal professional athlete. The only major difference in her sporting career was that she ran as a Guyanese in Trinidad. This did not stop her. Her sporting career ended due to injuries, and she returned to Guyana. Although she no longer runs like she used to, Sonya is still championing the support of Guyanese athletes in Madewini and throughout Guyana.
Madewini is one of many Guyanese places that showcase unity and natural diversity. Life in the community can be described as easy-going and simple. Most people say their day is made up of tending to farms and household chores, amid the beauty of the community. Sonya France says her days are no different; they are quiet days filled with serenity and family. She shared, “I’m a housewife. I am a mother of three. I enjoy dancing, singing, and mostly sports. If you don’t really see me sitting down, conversing with my uncles or with my cousins, I would be at home. Dancing, singing just me by myself.”
Born in Guyana but raised in Trinidad, Sonya’s Guyanese roots showcased themselves in her athletic prowess. She ran track and field for most of her high school years. She shared, “My favourite sport is track and field. I enjoy track and field. I succumbed to certain injuries, so I don’t really run anymore. I used to run over in Trinidad at St. Joseph’s College. But I don’t run anymore because of certain injuries.” Her athletic career was the only way to describe her experiences in Trinidad. Young and bursting with passion, Sonya soared to the top of track and field in Trinidad, but the lack of support was her biggest competitor.
She shared, “My athletic career in Trinidad was very exciting. Because most of the time, when you’re winning, everybody loves a winner. That was me. My mother left me with my aunt over there. So, they would come and support me with lots of medals, lots of trophies. But due to me being Guyanese, it was a bit of a fight down over there. So, I faced a lot of setbacks on that part.”
As exhilarating as her short athletic career was, it was enough to force a young Sonya to confront her cultural identity. She lived in a country she loved but sought to represent her homeland, Guyana. This was one of the biggest reasons she quit. As she explained, “They did not really want to put a Guyanese representative in front of their people. So, I just quit; that was one of the main reasons I quit. The support, I only got it from my aunt. And everybody else around wasn’t there. Because the majority of my elders were over here. So, you know, that kind of support to get a push to move forward wasn’t there for me.
When asked about her biggest triumphs, Sonya said that running for her was never about winning. It was simply about her love for the sport. As she explained, “I never took a record of my best timings. Because I just used to run for fun. I never really looked at it as because you’re winning. And you never really had any sort of competitors to really say what would make me worry.” Sonya shared that sports were a part of her from a very young age. She entered every sport she could and excelled at most. “Every sport I would enter. If it’s not, other than track and field, it’s netball, volleyball, table tennis, lawn tennis, and badminton. Those were my games I would take part in other than my track and field at that time.”
Returning to Guyana several years ago, Sonya is now giving young sportsmen and women the support she did not get. As she explained, “I feel very proud of our Guyanese athletes. I have a little cousin; he runs for Guyana. I just try to see how I go and support him in his running. And I try to see how I get my children involved, but they do not play track and field. They like basketball and gymnastics. Even though they’re girls, they like basketball and gymnastics.
But we don’t really get much push within this community to say, well, let our children go.” Moving forward, Sonya hopes to see sports in Madewini supported. Children of the community are active and many are skilled athletes. Some of them are skilled swimmers and others are phenomenal runners. “We have got to support our children, ourselves. The children will benefit from sporting activity within this community. My children have this athletic ability within them. So they will mostly be involved in that. You will see them amongst themselves. This is their field. They will run back and forth amongst each other, racing.”
