AAA submits 2003 sports personalities to NSC
By Leeron Brumell
Guyana Chronicle
January 15, 2004
THE Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) last weekend selected and submitted its sports personalities for 2003 to the National Sports Commission (NSC).
The association named its junior and senior male and female athletes and sports personality.
The junior male is Cleveland Forde, female Jennifer Chichester, senior male in Andre Blackman and for the females three names were put forward - Aliann Pompey, Marian Burnett and Michelle Vaughn.
The sports personality is the president himself Claude Blackmore.
The nominees were selected on Saturday at AAA’s first statutory meeting for the year at the Olympic House, Church and Peter Rose Streets, Queenstown.
Forde the top, junior and senior athlete was put forward based on his achievements of claiming a Carifta gold medal in the 5000m event, having represented Guyana at the South American Juniors, the first and second legs of the South American 10km as well as other meets that he participated off his own and ended in the top three positions.
In addition he has dominated the local scene in the longer distances as well.
Chichester, who is now on a four-year High School scholarship in Maryland, was credited with claiming medals at the Carifta Games, participating in the IAAF World Youth Championship in Canada, and the Palo Seco Invitational where she placed first and second respectively in the 800 and 1500m among others.
She has also been the top female in both junior and senior 1500, 3 000 and 5 km events.
The senior male athlete, Blackman, is the current 100m national champion, having claimed the title in April in a hotly contested race that boasted athletes in the likes of Rawle Greene and Keith Roberts.
Blackman also participated in the World Championships and was stopped in the first round of trials.
He placed in the top two spaces in the Manny Ramjohn Memorial Games, Southern Games and the Palo Seco Invitational.
The female department is a tough choice, with Aliann Pompey participating in three events, the IAAF World Indoor Championships, Pan-American Games and the IAAF World Athletics Championships.
Pompey picked up a bronze at the Pan-American Games in the 400m event.
She participated in other meets after, but has not been as successful, while Burnett has also kept the Golden Arrowhead flying high with her ‘never-say-never’ attitude in the half-mile event (800m) with a bronze medal at the Pan-American Games in 2003.
Vaughn who is currently on a two-year scholarship at the Essex Community College has had a remarkable 2002-2003.
She is the national long jump and 100 and 200m sprint champion.
On the regional scene, she has claimed gold medals in the long and triple jump events at the Hampton game.
Vaughn has also participated at the Whitsuntide Games in Grenada and also represented Guyana at the Carifta Games.
She also participated in the South American Senior Championships and the CAC Senior Championships picking up a bronze medal in the triple jump.
The executives of the AAA nominated the president as the Sports Personality of the Year for his constant ‘banging’ to develop the sport.
Blackmore in 2003 had also been elected to the Competitions Commission of the South American Confederation and was instrumental in the successful staging of the first leg of the South American 10km.
He had also participated in a number of administration workshops around the world.