By Neto Baptiste
Top female cyclist Tamiko Butler believes it’s an almost certainty she will miss the postponed 2020 Caribbean Cycling Championships, tentatively slated for June, in the Dominican Republic.
The event, which should have taken place in October last year, was initially moved to March 2021 and then to June because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Butler who lives in Trinidad, said she has not been able to adequately prepare due to repeated Covid-19 lockdowns in that country.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to be able to focus on training in a way that I would like to and if I am doing something, then I am doing it 100 percent. I am not jumping on a plane to go anywhere and represent my country if I am not putting 100 percent forward,” she said.
“I am all there to support in any way that I possibly can, but I definitely would like to be in the best physical shape that I could be in and that is also difficult to do from Trinidad at the moment because of course, there is no racing and there is nothing to keep us on our toes either, so preparation would be very difficult,” she added.
Reports are that a three-member team comprising one female and two male cyclists, will represent Antigua and Barbuda at the Caribbean Cycling Championships.
Butler, in 2019, underwent a six-hour reconstructive surgery on her right shoulder after doctors had identified torn cartilage as the source of what the athlete had termed as excruciating back pains at the time.
The athlete said she is nearing full recovery.
“I am a good 90 percent back from what I would have been encountering before pain-wise. My schedule has been fluctuating and there have been times when I have been able to ride a lot more than others depending on workload and when I am able to get those stints where I can train, I can’t say that I’ve had problems with my back or shoulders. I think the surgery in Cuba was a very good move and I think they did a very good job,” she said.
Butler, in 2016, was contracted by the DROPS Cycling Team, a professional outfit based in Europe. The cyclist was forced to sit out parts of the 2016/17 cycling season after doctors said she suffered from what was first thought to be a hip injury.
The athlete also missed the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, because of the injury.