A SHAME!

By Mike King

mikeking@nationnews. com

Track giant Obadele Thompson says it is a shame and ‘disheartening’ that track and field athletes in this country don’t have a National Stadium.

In an exclusive interview with Weekend Sport, Thompson, a bronze medallist in the 100 metres at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said it hurts him to drive past a stadium in “dilapidated condiiton.”

“It is unfortunate that we don’t have a National Stadium

in place. I drove past there recently and the memories came flooding back of the great events that took place there. It is sad to see the stadium in its current situation.

“Even though I know, there are going to rebuild it, you just think about how did we come to this point. I grew up seeing Texaco Games there, I got the chance to see world and Olympic champions in cycling. This is a place I got the chance to see Linford Christie, where I got the chance to see all that buzz and activity, to a place that is barren, it is a very disheartening thing,” he said.

There has been no major competition at the National Stadium since 2020, just before the outbreak of COVID-19.

Thompson, a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, and 2004), and a finalist

at each Olympics, thinks that better could have been done.

“I do not understand how in 2025, this is our reality, it does not make sense. I know the ( Usain Bolt Sports Complex) facility is owned by UWI and they have to make money, but I don’t understand why we are paying to get national athletes develop.

“It is one thing if we were doing very well, therefore let them pay but we are not doing well, so you are going to deter even more people by making them pay.”

Thompson said Barbados had lost ground in athletics and was struggling to catch up.

“Sports tourism is when our athletes go out and become ambassadors for us, that is part of sports tourism, they are our brand around the region, around the world, but we are not giving them full access to everything that is potentially available.

“We are far behind the Eight-ball. People used to hold Barbados in