The 26-year-old Knight-Wisdom, having decided to relocate from his family home, said the going got extremely tough, as all of a sudden, he had to be paying bills which seriously hampered his preparation. “It’s has been challenging because there have been times when I have to be borrowing money from friend and family to get through,” Knight-Wisdom revealed.
“I have been receiving the funding from the Institute of Sports and it is tremendously helpful because the last few years have been very challenging for me. I moved from Leeds to Edinburg, so I left home which meant I have to pay rent, bills and food and paid for more things than when I was at home,” he pointed out.
“The scholarship that I have been receiving plus now this Institute of Sports funding has been really, really helpful and I am grateful to Minister Olivia Grange for providing that for athletes and hope that it is something that will continue, not just in the Olympic year, but in the years in between because those are the years that really count.
“But I am super grateful for it. It has been really helpful. I have been using it for some extra massage treatment and just try to look after my body to get me in a good condition for the Games”.
In 2016, Knight-Wisdom became the first Jamaican diver to qualify for the Olympic Games in fact, the first in the Caribbean.
“I am now starting to find my rhythm again. I went through the tough phase of getting back into training full time and so hopefully I can start building on all the good work I did in Tokyo at the World Cup. I can start improving on the small details going forward to the Games,” said Knight-Wisdom.
The tall Knight-Wisdom who won silver at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, said preparation is going well so far.
“It took a little bit of time because of the qualification to get back, recover physically and recover mentally. It was quite a stressful environment and recover from the jetlag before getting back into training.
“This is my second Olympic Games and it’s so incredible to be saying that. I first watched the Olympics in 2004 at the age of 9 and everything that I am doing now is to make that little boy proud. The fact I am going to my second Olympic Games is really fun and I am happy about it,” said Knight-Wisdom.
“I want to improve on what I did five years ago. I want to improve on my semi-final performance. I know I can dive well enough to get into the final, I have to dive well to make that happen, just like everyone else. So that’s what my aim is to make it to the final then we see what happens,” he noted.
“I just want people to enjoy the sport of diving. Watch me and support me and I am so appreciative of all the love and I definitely feel that when I visit the island.
“I want people to enjoy the beauty of diving and the competitiveness and maybe one day we can see more Jamaican divers competing at this level, that would be awesome and I want to do my part and help that happen in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” said Knight-Wisdom.
The minister made the appeal during Tuesday’s launch of the event at the National Stadium in Kingston, which hosted the 49th Carifta Games that concluded on Monday.
“Between May 2 and 4 we will have the Eastern Championships at Stadium East to start us off, followed by the Central Championships between May 9 and11 at the GC Foster College, then the Western Championships at STETHS between May 12 and14 culminating with the grand finale, the inaugural staging of the National Athletics Junior Championships for Boys and Girls in the National Stadium from May 26 to May 28,” the minister said in outlining the schedule for the build-up to the championships.
“I am making an appeal to the private sector to provide sponsorship for these Championships in the same way support is given to the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships. There will be as many as 500 participating schools and so I am inviting the private sector to come on board now with support for the primary-level event.”
The minister said the government has invested a lot in the development of sports in the country but it is unable to go it alone, hence the need for additional support for the championship that has proven to be the crucible from which so many of Jamaica’s athletic stars have emerged.
“Over time, the Government has invested millions of dollars at the primary school level in track and field and (Institute of Sports) INSPORTS can take credit for laying the foundation on which the careers of many of our outstanding athletes have been built,” she said.
“Athletes the likes of World and Olympic 100m gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Olympic and World 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker, Olympic bronze medalist, Warren Weir, 2008 Olympic 100m silver and 200m bronze medalist Kerron Stewart, CARIFTA Games Under-17 200m champion and record-holder Jazeel Murphy, and 2007 World Youth 200m champion Ramone McKenzie and many others.
“More recent stand-out athletes to have competed at Primary School Champs have been Christopher Taylor, Tyreke Wilson, Raheem Chambers and Brianna Lyston. In the just-concluded CARIFTA Games, Jamaica won a record 92 medals. It begins at INSPORTS.”
Teams Combined Rankings - 40 Events Scored
1) Lyssons Primary School 300.50
2) HARBOUR VIEW PRIMARY 201.33
3) St. Patrick's Primary 112.33
4) WINDWARD ROAD PRIMARY 111
5) John Mills Primary 98.33
6) Half Way Tree 91
7) St Richard’s Primary 85
8) Rousseau Primary School 73
9) New Providence 60
10) St Jude’s Primary 55
The 27-year-old Francis, who is the only Jamaican gymnast to qualify for the 2021 Olympics to date, is a beneficiary of the Athletes Assistance and Welfare Fund orchestrated by the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, the Honourable Olivia Grange.
“I have received funding from the Institute of Sports and I am so, so grateful for this,” said Francis, who is based in London.
“With gymnastics being a fairly new sport in Jamaica I never expected to receive much support financially and so, I do work alongside my training,” she revealed.
Francis continued: “But receiving this funding from the Institute of Sports allowed me to work less hours and focus more on my training and I think this will be a great factor in delivering the result I want when we get to Tokyo”.
Francis is just one of a number of athletes across various sporting disciplines that have received funding designed to provide financial assistance to national sportsmen and women preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Government through the Institute of Sports is providing support to approximately 124 athletes to the tune of $45m. The program was implemented for the first time in March 2020.
Francis, who is expected to be joined by Jamaica’s first gymnast to the Olympic Games in 2016 -- Toni-Ann Williams – said training has been going well.
“My preparations for the Olympics are going well, I feel like it is right on track. Just building fitness and trying to put those finishing touches on my routines,” Francis pointed out.
“I am competing in a few weeks and I am really excited to get back out there on the competition floor in that mindset, dust off the cobwebs and I think this will give me a nice confidence boost before going to Tokyo,” she added.
“This is my second Olympic Games. In 2012, I was a reserve so I didn’t actually get to compete. So this time, out there on the competition floor Jamaican fans can expect to see the same charisma that Jamaican athletes are known for. I will be out there with a great big smile, I will be wearing the Jamaican flag and I will do my best to make everybody proud,” said Francis.
