By Neto Baptiste
Former national athlete and coach of the three-member Antigua and Barbuda team that recently competed at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, Teddy Daley, has commended the athletes for their resilience following what he described as a travel nightmare.
Noting that it was no fault of the Antigua and Barbuda Athletic Association (ABBA) as all arrangements were in place well ahead of timein place well ahead of time, Daley says what started as a simple diversion due to a thunderstorm, ended with the team getting in just hours ahead of competition.
“While we were on our way to Miami, an announcement was made that there was a thunderstorm in Miami and so we had to divert to Fort Myers. Fort Myers is not an international airport so it wasn’t prepared for all the diversions because a lot of flights got diverted there. We were in the plane for hours just sitting. The door could not be opened based on federal regulations and so on and so forth. Eventually that same flight was able to fly back to Miami,” he said.
“By the time we got to Miami it was 1:30 or somewhere thereabout. American Airlines decided that they were going to put us up but no hotel was available so we had to stay at the airport. No place to sleep, no place to lay down so we had to sit all night,” he added.
The ordeal, which resulted in sprinter Kasiya Daley having to pull out of the 100-meters heats, also forced the management staff to allow the three athletes to travel into Eugene, Oregon with them in hopes of catching later flights to their destination.
The coach said it negatively impacted the performance of the athletes.
“Eventually we got a flight with three seats opening up so we had to send the athletes by themselves with the hope that they were able to get in there. We contacted the people in Eugene so that they would look out for them and make sure that they get accredited and put up in their rooms etc. Then we waited to see what flight we could get on. A number of flights passed and we couldn’t get on. Then we eventually had to split up and go separate ways to re-route into Phoenix and then get to Eugene. So by the time all of this, the athletes for two nights they did not get one, no sleep at all, and then the other night very little. They did not recover from it,” Daley said.
Despite the setbacks, 15-year-old sprint sensation Tyra Fenton made a historical appearance in the final of the Women’s 200 meters. Fenton became the first female athlete from Antigua and Barbuda to advance to a final at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships.
The other members of the team were Kettia Ambrose who reached the semifinals of the Women’s 400 meters and Daley, who competed in the Men’s 200 meters.
Daley Says Unexpected Travel Woes Impacted Athletes Ahead of World U20 Championships
