I recently had a rather eye-opening conversation with an 18-year old about one of Jamaica’s greatest ever female sprinters Merlene Joyce Ottey.
I would say this young man has a strong working knowledge of sports but especially of Jamaican athletes and their accomplishments.
It, therefore, struck me by surprise when the name Merlene Ottey did not resonate with him, certainly not in the way I would have expected.
It isn’t that he hadn’t heard the name before but the significance of it did not immediately dawn on him, not in the way speaking of a modern star like Usain Bolt or Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce would. Sadly, I find this of most I speak to from the younger generation.
I will admit when Ottey was in her prime his generation would not have been born but to me, she is such a legendary figure that her legacy of placing Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean on the female track and field map must never be forgotten.
And so, I took the opportunity to educate this youngster about Ottey and her stunning career, from becoming the first English-speaking Caribbean female to win an Olympic medal in 1980, to her switch to and subsequent major appearances for Slovenia post the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
I especially focused on some narrow misses for World and Olympic 100 metres gold at the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships and the 1996 Olympics, on both occasions narrowly, and some would say controversially, losing to American Gail Devers.
This young man seemed in awe, as he should be.
“She was cute too,” he said as he watched the 1993 IAAF World Championship 200 metres final when she finally won a global outdoor gold medal.
So many youngsters are unaware of the history and believe Jamaica’s track and field success started at the Beijing Games with Bolt and company.
But since 1948, the world has respected what we have offered in the global track and field space and for 20 years 1980-2000, Ottey stood front and centre as the leading figure not only but especially for women in the English-speaking Caribbean.
She won nine Olympic medals, including 7 in individual events, the most by any woman in track and field.
She backed that up with 14 World Outdoor medals and 7 World Indoor medals and she still holds the 200m world indoor record at 21.87 seconds.
Just this week, Ottey was again recognised at the National Honours and Awards ceremony on Heroes’ Day, receiving the country’s fourth highest honour, The Order of Jamaica.
This is a well-deserved and timely reminder of the greatness of the woman.
She was dubbed “Bronze Queen” as 15 of her 30 global medals, indoors and out, were of that variety. She had many narrow misses for gold but Merlene Ottey’s impact in inspiring generations of Caribbean female sprinters is worth honouring and celebrating even to this day.
So, this is in honour of Merlene Ottey.
May we never forget her impact on Jamaica, the Caribbean, and indeed global track and field.
Rugby coach makes healthy eating part of game plan
There is one reliable rule when it comes to living well: eat healthily. Schezelle Fleming, rugby coach at the South East Port of Spain Secondary School in Trinidad and Tobago has ingested that lesson and now wants others to do the same.
In addition to teaching the basics of the fast-paced sport, Fleming enlightens the boys and girls of the benefits of healthy eating during rugby training. Giving health advise to children between the ages of 11 and 17 can promote lifelong healthy habits.
Talking about eating healthy is good but Fleming also wants to put it into practice and her food company 'Happy Oat' will make that possible after every training session.
"I plan on providing them with 'Happy Oat minis' when we start back training next year, as well as embark on some nutritional food projects with them," she said.
Fleming started the 'Happy Oat' in 2017. Happy Oat is a company that manufactures healthy treats. However, in 2018, Fleming went on a hiatus and the business stalled.
"The load was too overwhelming. It was challenging to manage my job, my son, rugby, and a business in all aspects," she admitted.
With all the downtime provided by the Covid-19 pandemic, Fleming revisited the venture but "this time in a much more organised manner."
The oatmeal muffins offered by the Happy Oat have an impressive selection of flavours, namely Banana Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Walnut, Cranberry, Mixed Nuts (Pecans, Brazil Nuts, Walnuts, and Almonds), Carrot Raisin and Coconut.
In addition, "Happy Oat muffins do not have any wheat, dairy, eggs or added refined sugar. They are also extremely moist and filling, but not heavy," said Fleming.
Recently, customers were given the option of adding agave, a plant-based sweetener, to their muffins for extra sweetness.
"As research shows, it [agave] is low on the glycemic index (which means it’s diabetic friendly)."
"I liked the agave because I didn’t have to use as much to sweeten unlike honey," she noted.
The general feedback from customers is positive.
Fleming says customers are blown away by how moist and tasty the muffins are for 'healthy food'.
She describes it as "the most precious feedback" because she loves being able to provide quality options, especially because she is the only person running the operation.
"Currently, the Happy Oat team is just me - the happy baker, social media marketing/content creator, manager etc," Fleming said.
Nevertheless, Happy Oat is growing. So much so that Fleming expects it to become one of the official sponsors of the South East Port of Spain Secondary School rugby team.
Happy Oat's delicious muffins are available at the recently opened Fitt Street Market. The Fitt Street Market supports local food businesses and is located at the corner of Fitt Street and Ariapita Avenue in Port of Spain.
Wanting more people to opt for healthy snacks is one thing but producing healthy snacks that put people in a good mood, rather than leaving a bad aftertaste is another and Fleming is glad she found the recipe.
'WI will keep fighting' - Windies captain Pollard backs team to bounce back after disappointing start toT20s
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has backed the team to rebound following a disappointing five-wicket loss to open its three-match T20I series against New Zealand on Friday.
For his part, Pollard crafted a masterful unbeaten 75 as the team posted 180 for 7, but in the rain-affected fixture the hosts chased down the total with a 179 for five response from 15.2 overs to win via the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Despite setting a reasonable total there will be plenty for the West Indies to ponder in the loss. They got off to a fast start after racing to 58 without loss in 19 balls courtesy of Andre Fletcher’s 14-ball 34, following his dismissal the team lost five wickets in 11 balls.
In chasing down the target, Jimmy Neesham and Devon Conway led a New Zealand recovery, pulling the team back from 63 for 4 mid-way the seventh over to get a comfortable victory in the end. They were aided by plenty of wayward bowling. Keemo Paul and Kesrick Williams being were particularly culpable. Paul bowled five no-balls while giving up 39 runs from his three overs while Williams’ half volleys saw him being taken for 33 runs from two overs.
“We will continue to fight, hopefully, we will get over the line and set up an exciting third match for the final game,” Pollard told members of the media following the match.
“We definitely have to look at our plans and come back, in terms of the bowling aspect of it and try not to lose wickets in clusters, these are conversations that we continue to have but as cricket goes sometimes these things play a part.”
Pollard blames erratic, undisciplined bowling for Windies loss
West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard blames his side’s erratic bowling for their five-wicket loss to New Zealand in Auckland on Friday.
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