By Robert A Emmanuel
Members of the Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Association, Metrological Services, Pioneer Sports Club, friends, family and general well-wishers gathered to lay to rest and to celebrate the life of one of the nation’s great athletes, Andre Simon.
Simon was critically injured when he was struck by a motorist during a training ride alongside fellow cyclists and, until June 8 2023, had been fighting for his life in Texas.
Yesterday at the St John’s Pentecostal Church, tributes were aplenty from those who knew Simon well.
President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cycling Federation, St Clair Williams, spoke about Simon’s genuine nature, work ethic and “infectious smile” as he remembered the legacy he had left behind.
“Everyone here will agree that we are celebrating; celebrating the life of a dear friend, a person who would have ridden with us, competed, and also would have given a lot of support.
“I think as a body, as a fraternity, he would be well missed and I think we should take his work ethic…in the sport and make it an example for the young ones to follow, [as well as] for the not-so-young ones and I think if we do that, cycling will continue on a prosperous path,” the President said.
From a very young age, Simon was a member of the Antigua Pioneers Sports Club, having competed in regional and international cycling tournaments, including the Pan American Games, the Tobago Cycling Classic, and Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) championship and, in 2014, served as the only Antiguan cyclist to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
Simon also created his own cycling club in 2021, called the Andre Simon Cycling Association, where he trained children as young as four.
Mary Clare Hurst, one of Simon’s cousins, said he had made a stamp on Antigua’s sporting history.
“We weren’t ready for him to leave but, as Christians, we know that this is not the end and this is not our decision as the decision was made to call him home…he was a wonderful human being, and we are going to miss him.
“Ride on in majesty, ride on Andre, you have made and created an indelible mark on your country of Antigua and Barbuda—that we will always remember,” Hurst remarked.
Friend Georgia Derrick recited a poem she had written in tribute to Simon, speaking about her close bond with him.
“Today, we lay you down to rest, they say God takes the very best; things happen for a reason, they say, though we may not see it that way; please watch over us from above and keep us safe with your boundless love,” she tearfully expressed.
Another close friend of Simon, Rory Butler, shared a personal video message in tribute.
“Andre was one of those rare people in life who you can lean on when the going gets tough and I often did. I cannot begin to tell you his achievements because there were too many, but his legacy is how he lifted those around him,” Butler said.
Meanwhile, Andre’s brother Dwayne Simon gave the eulogy, speaking about his brother’s love for his mother, son, his family and the cycling community.
“I believe God gave us a gift…I think Andre and God had a meeting and said, ‘we are going to give his family and the people he loves a gift’ and I believe the gift was Andre staying with us for an additional 13 months and I am eternally grateful to God for that.
“It feels like a gift because I have so many friends in medicine and two days after the accident, one of them told me…based on Andre’s report, he should have died on the spot…and he told me that everything after this was like a blessing,” he said.
Dwayne believed that had his brother died immediately, it would have been too difficult for his family to cope and remarked that this was the reason, in his opinion, that Andre continued to preserve.
“I think he would say to the family that you are going to be sad for a while, but he wants us to live our best lives as he did his.
“To the cycling family and all the other athletics associations, despite the challenges faced by the sport, Andre would not want you to stop cycling,” he added.
The cycling fraternity saw their beloved friend and cycling partner off one last time with a touching bicycle salute, his casket leaving the church beneath a canopy of spokes and wheels and many followed the procession on their cycles in one last ride with the fallen athlete.
