New three-year plan targets development of world-class athletes

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will launch a three-year programme aimed at helping the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) develop world-class athletes, Sports Minister Charles Ramson Jr. said.

Ramson announced the initiative during a meeting with AAG officials and athletes at Leonora over the weekend. The programme is scheduled to begin next month and will include visits from international coaches several times each year.

“We entered into an arrangement for the next three years, starting next month. Over the next three years you are going to have high-level coaching coming to the country many times in the year for us to start learning what we need to do,” Ramson told the athletes.

He said Guyana has the talent to produce Olympic medal contenders but requires greater investment in training and sports science.“Guyana possesses all of the raw talent for us to get into the Olympics and the finals and even on the podium,” he said, adding that improved scientific training methods would be needed to achieve those results.
The AAG is preparing junior athletes for the CARIFTA Games, which are scheduled to be held in Grenada in April.