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Sinclair Moves To Clear Air
Published: Friday | August 2, 2013 0 Comments
Kenia Sinclair winning the national women's 800m title at last year's Supreme Ventures JAAA National Senior Champio-nships at the National Stadium. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Kenia Sinclair winning the national women's 800m title at last year's Supreme Ventures JAAA National Senior Champio-nships at the National Stadium. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter
Depression and disappointment. Jamaican 800 metres standout Kenia Sinclair has endured a rough few weeks.
After being involved in a car accident that has effectively ended her season, the 33-year-old also missed out on a spot on Jamaica's team to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow.
But the 2008 Olympic finalist has moved to clear the air, pointing out that her disappointment does not lie with missing out on the team, but rather with what she regards as demotivating neglect from the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) at a point when she needed them more than ever.
Sinclair, who has been representing Jamaica since 2003, missed the National Championships in June, which serves as a pre-requisite for selection consideration, after she failed to recover in time from injuries sustained in a motor-vehicle accident earlier this year.
JAAA's selection policy meant that the athlete would have first had to receive medical exemption, ranked in the top three in her event, and also proven competitive fitness in time to be considered for the team.
"I want to set the record straight because everyone believes I am upset because I did not make the World Championships team. My whole thing is, when I tried to reach out to the JAAA and sent them a letter telling them that I met in an accident and that I wasn't able to compete at the championships, no one ever reached out to me at all to even check on me once," Sinclair said.
"I swear, I found myself in a state of depression. They (JAAA) need to support their athletes more whether they are medal contenders, or whatever and I think the support of the JAAA is what helps to build athletes more than many persons can ever imagine," Sinclair added.
"Just motivational support. Sometimes when an athlete is down and out of it, just a simple call or an inspirational chat goes a far way. It doesn't have to be financial. This thing is mental. Once an athlete is mentally in the right place, they can do wonders," she said, noting that several emails to the association went unanswered.
"I sent an email and copied everyone I know at the JAAA, including (president) Dr Warren Blake, Ms (Marie) Tavares, and Garth Gayle. I also gave my doctor the JAAA's email address and he sent them a letter, which he also forwarded to me, and nobody tried to reach out to me, to find out how I was doing or even find out if I was trying to make the team, or stuff like that," Sinclair added.
demotivating
"I got no response from anyone, and that made me a bit upset because I felt like I didn't have any support from my own federation," said Sinclair. "It honestly demotivated me. Even though it's an individual sport and I am doing this for myself as well, it's my honour every year when there is a championship to wear my country's colours, and it's something that keep us driven and reminds us we also do this for many others."
When contacted about Sinclair's concerns, president of the JAAA, Dr Warren Blake, said he had not seen an email from the athlete. He had also not been notified by anyone of any correspondence from the athlete.
Sinclair has won silver medals at the IAAF World Indoor Champion-ships and Commonwealth Games.
Published: Friday | August 2, 2013 0 Comments
Kenia Sinclair winning the national women's 800m title at last year's Supreme Ventures JAAA National Senior Champio-nships at the National Stadium. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Kenia Sinclair winning the national women's 800m title at last year's Supreme Ventures JAAA National Senior Champio-nships at the National Stadium. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter
Depression and disappointment. Jamaican 800 metres standout Kenia Sinclair has endured a rough few weeks.
After being involved in a car accident that has effectively ended her season, the 33-year-old also missed out on a spot on Jamaica's team to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow.
But the 2008 Olympic finalist has moved to clear the air, pointing out that her disappointment does not lie with missing out on the team, but rather with what she regards as demotivating neglect from the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) at a point when she needed them more than ever.
Sinclair, who has been representing Jamaica since 2003, missed the National Championships in June, which serves as a pre-requisite for selection consideration, after she failed to recover in time from injuries sustained in a motor-vehicle accident earlier this year.
JAAA's selection policy meant that the athlete would have first had to receive medical exemption, ranked in the top three in her event, and also proven competitive fitness in time to be considered for the team.
"I want to set the record straight because everyone believes I am upset because I did not make the World Championships team. My whole thing is, when I tried to reach out to the JAAA and sent them a letter telling them that I met in an accident and that I wasn't able to compete at the championships, no one ever reached out to me at all to even check on me once," Sinclair said.
"I swear, I found myself in a state of depression. They (JAAA) need to support their athletes more whether they are medal contenders, or whatever and I think the support of the JAAA is what helps to build athletes more than many persons can ever imagine," Sinclair added.
"Just motivational support. Sometimes when an athlete is down and out of it, just a simple call or an inspirational chat goes a far way. It doesn't have to be financial. This thing is mental. Once an athlete is mentally in the right place, they can do wonders," she said, noting that several emails to the association went unanswered.
"I sent an email and copied everyone I know at the JAAA, including (president) Dr Warren Blake, Ms (Marie) Tavares, and Garth Gayle. I also gave my doctor the JAAA's email address and he sent them a letter, which he also forwarded to me, and nobody tried to reach out to me, to find out how I was doing or even find out if I was trying to make the team, or stuff like that," Sinclair added.
demotivating
"I got no response from anyone, and that made me a bit upset because I felt like I didn't have any support from my own federation," said Sinclair. "It honestly demotivated me. Even though it's an individual sport and I am doing this for myself as well, it's my honour every year when there is a championship to wear my country's colours, and it's something that keep us driven and reminds us we also do this for many others."
When contacted about Sinclair's concerns, president of the JAAA, Dr Warren Blake, said he had not seen an email from the athlete. He had also not been notified by anyone of any correspondence from the athlete.
Sinclair has won silver medals at the IAAF World Indoor Champion-ships and Commonwealth Games.
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