‘Much to be proud of’ – Joachim

President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee (SVGOC), Stephen Joachim, thinks there is much to be proud of regarding the performance of St Vincent and the Grenadines at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games held in France from July 26 to August 11, 2024.

Despite not attaining a podium finish, in Joachim’s estimation, “there was much to be proud of”.

“We did not reach on the podium, but our four representatives did well…. Two national records were established, three personal bests, and a place in an Olympic final for the first time, you could not ask for more.”

Joachim added, “We had Shafiqua Maloney setting a new national record and placing fourth in the final of the Women’s 800m….This was not an accomplishment only for her and St Vincent and the Grenadines, but it was the best performance from a female in the 800m from the English-Speaking Caribbean in the history of the Olympics”.

“Likewise, Alex Joachim in the Men’s 50m Freestyle- he established a national record and his personal best in the Men’s 50m Freestyle; Kennice Greene did her personal best in the Women’s 50m Freestyle, and Handal Roban finished fourth in both his heat and repechage round of the Men’s 800m,” the SVGOC president pointed out.

“ Since we began attending the Olympics back in 1988, debuting in Seoul, South Korea…this was our best Olympics in many respects, given that Maloney was the first to quality for the Games, and the first Vincentian woman to get past the preliminaries, and of course, the first to advance to a final,” Joachim added.

He therefore concluded, “They all demonstrated the tenacity worthy of ambassadors of St Vincent and the Grenadines…they represented the country, their families and themselves with distinction….What our four representatives did at the Paris Olympics is testament of the personal commitment to their respective disciplines”.

Set aside the actual performances on the track and in the swimming pool, Joachim noted that from the opening ceremony, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ contingent “looked the part”.

With all the pluses that emerged from the Paris Olympics and the extended publicity that St Vincent and the Grenadines received, Joachim is hopeful that the ‘powers that be’ will play their role.

“Hopefully on the successes of Paris 2024, we will see that greater push and policies entrenched in a public sector and private sector partnership, that will ensure that our best prospects are given the necessary to compete at the highest level, namely at the Olympics”.

He however, underscored the need for managing expectations.

“We have to be realistic about St Vincent and the Grenadines medalling at the Olympics, as it takes years of dedication, financial support, competition and other attending structures to give Vincentians a chance to rub shoulders with those who have larger economies of scale, modern training facilities”, Joachim cautioned.

He, however, pledged that the SVGOC will continue to assist the respective national associations, federations and unions, acknowledging, “we can do that much”.