Home, The Conquering Hero

Today, those Barbadians who do not know of Ryan Brathwaite (pronounced 'Braffit' by many Bajans) and his exploits should hang their heads in shame and ignorance. Those Barbadians who did not know about him before his exploits in Berlin a few weeks ago should also bow their heads. While doing that penance, the rest of us will be cheering like crazy, just as we did when he ended the race and we did not need to see the replay to KNOW that he had won. Look at the finish: his dip at the tape is text book--chest forward (it's that which must cross the line first); head down; arms swept back (to give thrust and help keep the chest visible for the camera). Nice one, boy!

Today is not the day to berate anyone for Ryan succeeding DESPITE rather than BECAUSE. He has done the heroic deed. He represented his country at the highest level and cleared the bar (mixed metaphor) with ease. Now, he can look back and the records will show (because he has a few now) that he was THE VICTOR. Barbados' first world athletics champion. Savour the moment again (or for the first time, if you are still on hold with CBC about why your screen was blank during the championships). You get the full drama version, and if you understand the language you are a credit to your country. If you are not an athlete you will wince as he crushes the first hurdle. Look at how he paces nervously after the race; all the little bristles of expectation rising on his arm; fists clenched; lips bitten; earring twitching (look carefully). See how one of the American athletes contending for a medal on the line, Payne, quickly acknowledges the victor BEFORE the announcement. See the release of excitement as Ryan hears the result.



Today, I will not berate anyone when it comes to sports development. That I will save for another day. We will not go back to the flag issue.

Ryan has had a good amount of time to savour his win, and learn that he is now THE MAN in the 110 metres hurdles. European circuit racing must have been tiring and I'm sure he wanted to be home days ago. But, milk it, man! Now, as he sits in his plane waiting nervously to arrive and hear and see the adulation of his country, I hope that he has a heart so filled with pride and joy that he may get onto the tarmac and kiss it to show where he loves most.

My household has its own Ryan, but spelt Rhian (the Welsh way, and it means 'princess'), so we will not have to make any name changes to celebrate as a family. We are proud to hear that name sound out every day: R-eye-yan. My little daughter, bless her, thinks that school will close early to honour her. Now, that's the kind of sense of self that will take you places. I told her that she would need to share it with Mr. Brathwaite, and she seemed cool with that when she went to bed. She thought he was cute. Things may look different when she sees the bunting and so forth today, especially as her birthday is soon and celebration mood is already flowing.

I don't know when Barbados last had a day like this. If there is someone deserving of the title of Ambassador for Youth and Culture, Ryan Brathwaite is a good candidate. I wont comment about the rush of some in the private sector to ply him with land (but so far without the means to develop it). I will hope that the coat tails that trail behind the young man do not get tangled in any hurdles or get stepped up and make him fall.

As the national anthem is played today, I hope that every Barbadian will find it hard to hold back a tear or many in celebration of what its youth can do and how potential can shine through to great achievement.

Well done, Ryan. Welcome home!

From The Sublime To The Ridiculous To The Sublime To The Ridiculous Again

I love sports, playing, watching, coaching, discussing, reviewing memorable moments. I have had a lot of all of that over the past two weeks. I wont go into the details but will focus on what I can take from it all as a viewer and someone who cares about how sports and sportsmen and women develop and comport themselves.

The Sublime: Jamaica's Usain Bolt winning the double 100/200 metres at the World Championships, and doing it again with new world records; the Jamaican team did the expected and won the 4x100 metres relay, helped by the Americans' repeated failure to understand that the baton is part of the race.

The Ridiculous: The furore over South African runner, Caster Semenya's sexual make up (see Times report). Yes, it matters if she is more part man if she is entered against athletes who are supposed to be all woman. But, you have to reflect on the timing and tastefulness with which officialdom dealt with this. Some friends of mine say it's good that intersex will rule and somehow think that ah hermaphrodite can compete well with men. No way. He/she may have more ability than an average/excellent woman but will still be less than an excellent/average man. If this goes on, and we know that the body has its own natural balance, we may need to develop a 3rd category for sports. Any takers for 'undecided'?

The Sublime: I thought I had seen all of the great things that Switzerland's Roger Federer could do on a tennis court. That was until I say 'the shot' last night. Watch the video and let the action speak for itself.



He has made some other stunning shots but to do this to get 'break point' in a semi final is like a dream for a player. It takes lots of practice to do trick shots well and the luck is having the chance to play them at crucial moments.

The Ridiculous: This has to be the Serena moment of lack of serenity in the women's semi-finals at the US Open. I have only seen the replays of how the younger Williams sister melted down. People say a lot about the brashness of this American athlete, who is more 'in your face' than most. She's called other players out for 'cheating' and reminded them that she is from Compton. No excuses for her losing her cool, except that a key call by an official at a key point in a match is not trivial. When the player is convinced that the call is wrong then sense goes: replays show that Serena was right and the official wrong. But, so much was mishandled at the time and I wonder whether it would have been too much for the chair umpire to have used her microphone to issue a verbal warning so that the player would stop and think. Things happened slowly enough for a lot of preventative actions. I hope that after this incident, replay will be used for foot faults, which are bizarre;y defined and also odd as the only call in tennis that is left to one official and is not able to be overturned by the chair umpire. (see the video). If you want to see how the matter could have deteriorated look back at the infamous night match between Ilie Nastase and John McEnroe: McEnroe is the one not saying anything.

The Sublime: Barbados' Ryan Brathwaite winning the men's 110 metres hurdles final in Berlin, in a national record. He created history as the country first gold medallist in a major international meet.

The Ridiculous: The inability of the Barbadian delegation to react to the fact that he had the fastest semi-final time; he had a new national record in the semis; and the reigning Olympic champion Dayron Robles had fallen in his semi and was out. So they had a few hours to organize themselves to be at the finish line to hail at least an expected medalist. But, no. They camped out in their box near the 200 meter start and when the boy won they did not have a soul nearby to cheer him or give him the now obligatory flag for display. Way to stand up for the nation! When he reached near their nest out came a flag (I wont say from where it came as that too is embarrassing). Now, the boy is being lauded and there will be ticker tape style welcome for him on Thursday. Ask any Bajan if they had heard of Ryan Brathwaite before the competition and I will be all that I have you get more 'no' than 'yes'. Remember that this country's TV company did not see fit to buy the rights to show the championship. But if you do not understand how it is that a country does not produce many great athletes just look at how the administrators maladminster at all levels. Any one want to make a comment about Jamaica? Tek weh yu self!