Bailey-Cole sees more migration of athletes

Star athlete seeks for JAAA and govt action to do more for athletes

Manama

 Close on the heels of the reports that three Jamaican athletes have made requests to represent Bahrain, Commonwealth Games 100-metre champion Kemar Bailey-Cole called on the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, (JAAA) corporate Jamaica and the Government to do more for its athletes, according to Jamaica-Gleaner website.

 Olympic and World Championship silver medallist Shericka Williams and emerging sprinters Andrew Fisher and Kemarley Brown are reportedly in the final stages of completing the process of representing Bahrain at the next Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, next year. The move is seen as mainly about securing financial security in a sport where pickings are slim for all but a few elite athletes.

 Citing the challenges that athletes like him face on a daily basis, Bailey-Cole believes that if steps are not taken, Jamaica could stand to lose more of its elite athletes to countries willing to pay for their talents.

 “We are not getting the support from our association and many of us are living off small contracts,” he was quoted as saying by the website.

 The World Championships sprint relay gold medallist said under that the British athletes get paid according to their performance levels. “British athletes are ranked in different categories and paid accordingly, but at least they are getting money that help them to offset expenses,” he said. “But the country’s athletes are not getting help from the JAAA, corporate Jamaica,” he rued and added that they turned a blind eye to athletes like him.

 Bailey-Cole has won relay gold medals at the Olympics and World Championships. Despite his success, efforts by his agent in reaching out to corporate Jamaica have been rebuffed.

 “We would love to do much more,” said JAAA General Secretary Garth Gayle. “But we are 95 per cent volunteers working with a limited financial budget.”

 Meantime, athletes requesting permission to represent other countries could be seen as becoming a trend, JAAA president, Dr Warren Blake, said earlier this week. For athletes like Bailey-Cole, that trend could become a snowball.