BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 12, 2022
Our sports desk is yet to receive an official notice from the Belize Athletics Association (BAA) on the National Track & Field meet to be held this weekend at the Marion Jones Sports Complex under the auspices of the BAA and its president Deon Sutherland; but from different quarters in the athletics field, we have received information that seems credible, that there will indeed be a big national track and field event this weekend.
On yesterday morning’s Krem WUB, Belizean American Greg Meyers, a U.S. certified athletics coach, said his three children who recently participated in the Carifta Games in Jamaica on the Easter weekend, one of whom, then 13-year-old Demetrie, won Silver in the U17 3000m, will all be arriving in Belize on Friday to take part in the National Track & Field Championships 2022 which are scheduled for this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 14 & 15, at the Marion Jones Sports Complex track. A motorcade is planned to celebrate Demetrie’s achievement in Belmopan after they arrive on Friday. According to Greg, all the Meyers children have committed to run for Belize in international competition, and he is hoping to inspire other Belizean youth and athletics officials on what is achievable for Belizean athletes with proper training plans and supervision. His kids may not all win, as they are running in age categories well above their actual years, but the dedication and hard work of their training regimen has lifted up their performance to a trajectory that spells a promising future.
We also received a full schedule of the events from Daland Jones, a veteran multi-sport athlete who is currently associated with a track & field club that is participating in the event. Jones is one of those who is not happy with the current BAA leadership and is looking forward to great improvements on the Belize athletics scene.
It is noteworthy that the BAA has not attempted to utilize our medium to help highlight this weekend’s national event, and we have to wonder if its embattled president Deon Sutherland has an issue with this newspaper for revealing some of the discontent shared by a number of prominent individuals in the athletics arena. In that regard, we have confirmed reports that a group of “Concerned Belizean Athletes” sent a complaint in early April to World Athletics president, Sir Sebastian Coe, asking for an “investigation into… a recently held presidential election that took place on April 2, 2022, in Belize City.” Among the charges made in the letter, was that Sutherland acted in conflict of interest by “dictating the vetting of applications and ruling out persons that knowingly would not support him” in his re-election bid. Sutherland is reportedly still BAA president, having succeeded in the April 2 elections, but yesterday attorney Nicolas Dujon shared with us an email correspondence dated May 10 from the desk of the World Athletics president acknowledging receipt of a “complaint regarding the recently held elective General Assembly of the Belize Athletics Association,” and indicating that he had “spoken to the General Secretary of NACAC and he will initiate an investigation.”
Those issues certainly should not dampen the spirit of fans and athletes looking forward to compete in Belize’s National Track & Field Championships this weekend.
Below is the event schedule for the National Track & Field Championships shared with our news desk by Daland Jones:
Day 1, Saturday, May 14
9:00 a.m. – 100m (W) Semi-final
9:15 a.m. – 100m (M) Semi-final
9:00 a.m. – High Jump (W) Final
9:00 a.m. – Shot-put (M) Final
9:35 a.m. – 1500m (W) Final
9:50 a.m. – 1500m (M) Final
10:00 a.m. – Shot-put (W) Final
10:15 a.m. – 400m (W) Semi-final
10:20 a.m. – High Jump (M) Final
10:30 a.m. – 400m (M) Semi-final
10:50 a.m. – 100mH (W) Final
11:00 a.m. – 100mH (M) Final
11:00 a.m. – Long Jump (W) Final
11:00 a.m. – Discus (M) Final
B R E A K
12:30 p.m. – 100m (W) Final
12:45 p.m. – 100m (M) Final
1:00 p.m. – Long Jump (M) Final
1:00 p.m. – Discus (W) Final
1:15 p.m. – 400m (W) Final
1:30 p.m. – 400m (M) Final
3:00 p.m. – 4x100m Relay (W) Final
3:15 p.m. – 4x100m Relay (M) Final
Day 2, Sunday, May 15
8:00 a.m. – 3000m (W) Final
8:30 a.m. – 5000m (M) Final
9:00 a.m. – 200m (W) Semi-final
9:20 a.m. – 200m (M) Semi-final
9:30 a.m. – Javelin (W) Final
9:45 a.m. – 800m (M) Final
10:00 a.m. – 800m (W) Final
10:15 a.m. – Triple Jump (W) Final
10:30 a.m. – Javelin (M) Final
11:15 a.m. – Triple Jump (M) Final
B R E A K
12:00 noon – 200m (W) Final
12:15 p.m. – 200m (M) Final
1:30 p.m. – 4x400m Relay (W) Final
1:45 p.m. – 4x400m Relay (M) Final
END