Gonzales heads IOC scholarship awardees

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica's 400-metre record holder, Jermaine Gonzales, is among six local athletes to have been awarded elite scholarships through the Olympic Solidarity programme of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to assist them in their preparation for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The other three Jamaican track and field athletes who have been awarded scholarships are 100m and 200m specialist Yohan Blake, 400m runner Ricardo Chambers and 400m hurdler Isa Phillips. Swimmer Alia Atkinson and badminton player Gareth Henry are the other two recipients.

Gonzales, who ran 44.40 seconds on July 22 at the 10th Samsung Diamond League meeting in Monaco to eclipse Roxbert Martin's previous mark of 44.49, set back in 1997, is grateful for the scholarship and believes it will go a long way in helping him to realise his goals.

"I had been injured for a long time, so I haven't made much from track and field," Gonzales highlighted. "This scholarship is going to help me tremendously to continue in the path that I am going. I am grateful and I am going to put it to good use.

"It (the scholarship) is a good thing and it is something that will help even the younger athletes in the future, and I hope it continues," he added.

The athletes were selected based on their nomination by their respective national federations, along with the approval of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA). The JOA will also function as the monitoring and disbursement agency for the administration and control of the scholarships.

The scholarships; valued at approximately $13 million, will run from September 1, 2010 through to the London Olympics of 2012. It will provide the athletes with technical and financial assistance throughout the period, to facilitate their preparations.

The scholarship will facilitate the athletes' having access to appropriate training facilities, technical information on the London 2012 Olympic games, as well as specialised coaching in their relevant sporting disciplines. They will be further afforded regular medical and scientific assistance, accident and illness insurance and a fixed subsidy to offset travel costs to participate in required international Olympic-qualifying tournaments.

The award of the scholarship is part of the Elite Scholarship programme, which is very competitive and which is geared to assist athletes who have excelled in their field of sport and who, it is felt, could go on to do well in the Olympics Games. A limited number of these scholarships are awarded across the 205 National Olympic Committees worldwide.

The local Olympic body, according to a release from the JOA's first vice-president Don Anderson, is also now exploring additional ways to provide assistance to other athletes under the regional Olympic Solidarity programme. The objective of this programme is to provide assistance to persons seeking to qualify for the next Pan American Games, which will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, in October 2011.