As the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics gets underway in Japan, Guyana is officially making its 18th appearance as an independent nation at the Summer Olympics. (The games originally were scheduled to occur from July 4 to August 9, 2020 but was postponed to July 3 to August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)
As British Guiana, the country, participated in five other Olympic Games – from 1948 to 1964. It is also important that Guyana participated in the African-led boycott of the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic Games.
Highlights
Guyana first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1948 in London, competing as British Guiana. The NOC participated as Guyana for the first time at the 1968 Games in Mexico City.
Boxer Michael Anthony was the first, and so far only, athlete from Guyana to win an Olympic medal. He claimed bronze in the bantamweight division at the 1980 Games in Moscow.
More competitors from Guyana – 34 in total – have participated in athletics than in any other sport. The majority have competed on the track, although Guyanese athletes do have history in field events. Jennifer Innis placed 13th in the women’s long jump at the Olympic Games in both 1980 and 1984, while triple jumper Troy Doris reached the men’s final at Rio 2016 and eventually finished seventh.
Aliann Pompey, a 400m runner, holds the record for Olympic appearances by an athlete from Guyana with four. She made her debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney and competed at consecutive editions of the Games until London 2012. Her best finish was a ninth-place ranking at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
SOURCE: Tokyo 2020 website: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/noc-profile-guyana.htm
