By Neto Baptiste
Two of the country’s top track and field athletes are yet to report their progress to the Antigua and Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA) with all attempts to get in contact with at least one of the two proving futile.
President of the association Everton Cornelius, while speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show revealed that that the body has tried tirelessly to contact shot-put athlete Jess St John without any positive result.
“We have been trying to make contacts with her for the past months back and forth. She did get in contact with us and said she was going to start training. The NOC called me and asked me to look into the matter. I wrote to her and we haven’t heard anything. I have my little committee within the athletics association that deals with the overseas athletes and that is headed by Jamille Nelson and he gives me regular reports and he’s said that she is a person he just cannot get in contact with,” he said.
Reports are that the NOC has approved funding for St John, who is based in the US, but she is yet to present the requisite documentation to the athletics association.
Meanwhile, Cornelius said veteran sprinter Daniel Bailey has not reported his progress to the association as he continues to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
“Bakka hasn’t really communicated with us directly, so I don’t know exactly what Bakka is doing. Somebody sent me a WhatsApp message early last month telling me that he ran 10.5 something which is not impressive enough for me. What I am looking at, as I said to the NOC, is that the standards we are setting going forward, we think that for people to be considered and to be given financial assistance, they should be running anything like 10.3,” he said.
Bailey, currently overseas, has been training in Jamaica. The athlete is not being funded by the NOC or the government.