Four new Vincentian Sports Ambassadors named

Four persons were named as Sports Ambassadors by Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves when he delivered the annual Independence Address on Sunday evening, October 27, at Victoria Park.

The four are, international athlete, Shafiqua Maloney; national and West Indies cricketer, Jomel Warrican; former national football player Fitzgerald ‘John Hinds’ King; and national and overseas football player, Oalex Anderson.

Gonsalves described Maloney as “an amazing athlete of exemplary resilience, as exemplified by her performance in the 800 metres women’s final at the Paris Olympics, 2024”.

Maloney made history as the first Vincentian athlete to make the finals of a sporting discipline at the Olympic Games when she secured a spot in the last eight at the Women’ 800-metre finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics,finishing in fourth place in a time of 1 minute 57.66 seconds.

Warrican, a West Indies Test Cricketer, is the second from the Warrican family of Colonaire to be named a Sports Ambassador, following in the footsteps of his late brother, Irvin.
At the age of 17, Jomel Warrican was one of the frontline spinners in the West Indies Under-19 cricket squad 2010 World Cup, in which the regional team finished third.

In the 2014 – 2015 regional cricket season, Warrican collected 49 wickets, including two 8-fors at an average of 14.97, finishing fourth on the wicket-taking list behind spinners in the likes of Veerasmmy Permaul and Dadendra Bishoo, both of Guyana Harpy Eagles. Writing in ESPNcricinfo in April, 2015, journalist and West Indies cricket commentator and writer, the late Tony Cozier said that Warrican was among the players who impressed him.

To date, the 32-year-old has played 17 Test matches, picked up 54 wickets at an average of 34.09, with his last Test match being against South Africa at Providence, Guyana, August 15 – 17, 2024.

The Prime Minister noted that Fitzgerald ‘John Hinds’ King, was a “former national footballer, coach, a FIFA referee, and trainer of special athletes,” and has also been “a personality in the carnival culture for some forty years.”
Oalex Anderson, captain of the National Senior Football team, Vincy Heat, first came to national prominence when he was recognized as the Youth Footballer of the Year in 2012 by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

He is a Vincentian professional footballer who plays for North Carolina FC in the United States League Championship, and the St Vincent and the Grenadines national team. Anderson is known by the nickname “Bounty” for his prolific goal scoring. He made his national team debut in 2014, and in 2016, joined the Seattle Sounders FC from System 3 FC.