1 year ago
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JAMAICA CYCLING Association head coach, Carlton Simmonds, says there is direct correlation between the Olympic qualification system and the country’s decline in the sport.
Simmonds explained that the nature of qualification requires significant funding that has proven a challenge for the association.
“The dynamics of the entire qualification have changed, as in the formative years we used to select the cream of the crop to represent. Now, it requires representation through a qualification system and one of the challenges we have with that is funding. Now, this points system gets you to a nation’s cup which propels you into the World Championships, then to the Olympics,” Simmonds explained.
Having gone to six consecutive Olympic Games, from 1972 to 1992, the country has seen a dwindling of representatives with the last cyclist to enter the fray at the games – Ricardo Lynch – coming in 2008.
Simmonds believes this drought has affected not only Jamaica, but their Caribbean counterparts as well.
“The qualification system not only speaks towards your individual ranking, but also to your country ranking. Therefore, it’s a two-tier system that you have to maintain and it requires more than one athlete to be able to get the ‘country points’ to get the crucial points needed to be atop the food chain. It has become challenging not only for us, but the region itself,” Simmonds added.
The experienced cycling administrator called it “heartbreaking” when the Olympic cycle comes around and there’s no representation from Jamaica. He believes that action must be taken from as early as today to avoid missing out on another shot at the Games.
“It’s always disappointing when you can’t have an athlete representing the sport at the highest level. It’s heartbreaking, especially during this time when you can’t have representation. But the question is from a federation standpoint. What can you do to ensure that this doesn’t happen again and what kinds of actions can be put in place? You’re now talking about multiple sports fighting for the same piece of cake,” he said.
To date, Jamaica has only medalled once at the Olympics, courtesy of a David Weller bronze in 1980. Despite the challenges, Simmonds believes there’s still a chance of another athlete stepping onto the podium.
“I think it’s possible, because we have a cadre of juniors that I think, with a good plan and structure around it, can potentially be future medallists.”
English (US) ·