The decision to cancel the 2024 Grenada Invitational and retire the brand was made at a Board of Directors meeting on Monday, May 27.
The driving force behind the decision, as put by the organizers in a statement, were significant socio-economic challenges.
The Grenada Invitational, known for showcasing world-class athletes such as Justin Gatlin, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Kirani James, has been a highlight for track and field enthusiasts since its inception in 2017.
The event successfully ran for three consecutive years from 2017-19, bringing global attention to Grenada’s athletic prowess.
This year’s event, which was officially launched on May 16 at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort in St. George’s, was set to feature prominent athletes including 2011 World champion Kirani James, two-time double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, 2022 Commonwealth 110m hurdles gold medallist Rasheed Broadbell, and 100m hurdles Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper.
They were among over 100 athletes set to participate in the international segment that promised high-quality competition.
Grenadian stars Anderson Peters and Lindon Victor, both qualified for Paris 2024, were also booked for the event, making the cancellation even more disappointing for local fans.
However, efforts to revive the event post-COVID-19 have faced numerous hurdles. The local and regional economic environment has made securing the necessary sponsorship and support exceedingly difficult.
“Despite the best efforts of the Board of Directors and the Local Organising Team of the Grenada Invitational, the synergy, the enthusiasm, the energy, and the commitment to produce a once-in-a-generation event did not materialize,” the organizers stated.
The statement continued, “With time running out, the Board of Directors of the Grenada Invitational took the painful decision at a meeting late Monday May 27 to cancel the 2024 Grenada Invitational, as well as round up, for good, the franchise and brand that is Grenada Invitational.”
“We are extremely pleased that we were able to bring to Grenada quality, world class athletic competition. We would like to commend and extend a hearty thank you to all who contributed, in one way or the other, to the 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions of the Grenada Invitational.”
Organizers then encouraged Grenadians to look back at the previous editions with pride while singling out Grenadian athletes such as Kirani James, Anderson Peters and Lindon Victor as inspirations behind the meet.
Dexter Mitchell, the organizer for the meet set for April 4, 2020, at the Kirani James Athletics Stadium in Grenada, also confirmed the participation of world-record holder Kendra Harrison, Olympic and World champion Justin Gatlin, and 2019 long-jump world champion Tajay Gayle.
The impressive line-up also includes hometown hero Kirani James, Blessing Okagbare, Aaron Brown, Zharnel Hughes, and Asafa Powell for what Mitchell said would be the best meet yet.
“In its fourth year the Grenada Invitational will be the most competitive and exciting of our four meets,” he said of the meet that will also see the likes of 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake and Grenadian decathlete Lindon Victor in competition.
“In an Olympic year, we have been able to assemble a stellar cast of world-class athletes and with our World Athletes World Continental Tours Silver designation, the expectation is for delivery of a World Class event.”
The excitement surrounding the meet was palpable as it was officially launched on Thursday at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort in St. George's. The presence of Olympic champions and world-class athletes promises an electrifying atmosphere for spectators and competitors alike.
Joining the illustrious lineup are Commonwealth Games 110m hurdles champion Rasheed Broadbell, set to make his season debut, and Olympic bronze medalist Megan Tapper. Their participation adds further depth and excitement to an already stacked field of competitors that will also include Grenada’s Olympic hopefuls quarter-miler Melenie Rodney, sprinter Halle Hazzard as well as decathletes Linden Victor and Kurt Felix. Both decathletes will participate in the long jump and 100m events.
The meet will also herald the celebration of a significant milestone—the 40th anniversary of Grenada's first participation in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984. To honor this occasion, all 51 athletes who have represented the country at the Olympics over the past four decades will be celebrated and honored at a special ceremony scheduled for 6:00 pm on the day of the event.
The festivities are set to kick off at 4:30 pm with national segments featuring local athletes across various age categories, from U13 to U20. This segment serves as a platform to showcase the budding talent within Grenada's track and field community and underscores the nation's commitment to nurturing the next generation of athletic stars.
As the sun sets and the international segment commences at 7:00 pm, spectators can expect nothing short of top-tier performances from some of the world's most elite athletes. From sprints to hurdles, jumps to throws, the Grenada Invitational promises a spectacle of athletic excellence that will captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression on the global track and field stage.
The meet organizers say the full cast of athletes competing at the meet will be revealed over the next two weeks.
In recent weeks, the Coronavirus has spread to 111 countries and has infected more than 100,000 people across the globe, killing more than 3000 of them. It is against this background that the Local Organising Committee of the relays has taken what they have described as a difficult decision.
“After extensive deliberations with local public health officials, our broadcast partners, sponsors and athletes representatives, it was determined that the paramount importance of the health of our citizens and the expected influx of travellers (athletes, etc) warranted us to err on the side of caution,” organisers said in a statement today.
“As such, in light of the fluidity and uncertainty related to (COVID-19), it has become necessary to postpone the 4th annual Grenada Invitational that was scheduled for April 4th, 2020.
“The improbability and flexibility of the situation changes from day to day and these uncertainties are sure to hinder in the delivery of a World Class event.”
Some of the world’s best track and field athletes were down to compete at the Grenada Invitational as they gear up for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan that is also under threat because of the spread the virus that has seen thousands of Japanese citizens being infected.
Schools in that country have been ordered closed and public gatherings have been banned until the end of April when the International Olympic Committee is expected to make a final decision on whether the Games will be held.
Similarly, the organisers of the Grenada Invitational said they will decide if and when the meet will be held this year.
“Grenada Invitational will, as the rest of the sporting world, monitor the global conditions and along with track and field’s governing body, World Athletics and our broadcast partner, a new date for the meet will be announced once the (COVID-19) is no longer a threat and normalcy in travel and other routine activities is returned,” the statement said.
Elaine Thompson-Herah, the 2016 double Olympic champion, 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake, and Olympic and World Champion Kirani James were to be among the headliners at the meet this year as the organizers had begun to assemble a world-class field of athletes for the meet.
Also confirmed were the likes of Briana Williams, Kendra Harrison, Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin, and Tajay Gayle.
Taplin, 28, who was seventh in the 400m final in Rio, four years ago, was sanctioned by the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization in November 2019 for avoiding a drugs test.
The sanction stemmed from an incident at the Grenada Invitational on April 13, 2019, when Taplin won the 400m at the Grenada Invitational.
Following the race, Taplin left the stadium without completing doping control even doping control officers had informed him that he was to undergo a drug test. Reports said he left the island early the following day.
According to a summary released by the CAS, Taplin was notified on August 20, 2019, that he was being charged with intentionally evading sample collection on at the 2019 Grenada Invitational.
Following an investigation, the Caribbean RADO Panel issued its decision on November 8, 2019, in which it found, “to its comfortable satisfaction”, that Taplin sought to evade the chaperone and doping control officers and that he was guilty of the offence of evading sample collection.
He was banned for four years.
However, in his appeal to the CAS, Taplin requested that the decision be set aside and that he be declared immediately eligible to compete on the grounds that he had not been properly notified that he had been selected for the doping control test.
The CAS arbitration was conducted by Canadian The Honourable Hugh L. Fraser, who held the hearing at the offices of the Grenada Olympic Committee on February 27 and 28, 2020.
The sole arbitrator found that Taplin’s evidence that he was never approached, followed, or accompanied by anyone from the Grenada NADO to be implausible.
The arbitrator stated that he was comfortably satisfied that Taplin was guilty of the offence of evading sample collection and confirmed the four-year period of ineligibility, which commenced on September 25, 2019, the date on which the provisional suspension began.
