Burnett needs 'A' standard qualifying time to represent Guyana
- Blackmoore
By Michael DaSilva
Stabroek News
May 12, 2004
US-based athlete Marian Burnett will not be able to represent Guyana in Athens if she does not upgrade her `B' standard qualifying time to `A' standard.
Amateur Athletic Association of Guyana (AAA) President Claude Blackmoore yesterday said categorically that it is the association's policy that no overseas-based athletes will be able to represent Guyana at the Olympics or any other major international meet, if they do not attain the required `A' standard qualifying time.
This was in response to a query from Stabroek Sports as to whether the AAA will revisit its policy, with regard to having Burnett represent Guyana at the Athens, Greece Olympics with her `B' standard qualifying time. Blackmoore said for that to happen, the General Council of the AAA would have to meet to make a decision, but the council was totally against it. "But there is still a lot of time left for Burnett to make the `A' standard time of two minutes flat. There are lots of other meets that she could attend and see if she makes the `A' standard," Blackmoore said.
Blackmoore said local coaches are against the idea of the AAA sending overseas-based athletes to these meets with the `B' standard, in preference of local athletes who have no sort of facility for training and who need the exposure on internationally accepted tracks.
Blackmoore said: "It's too early to revisit that policy, Marion has lots of time and more meets to make the qualifying time."
In her first outdoor run for the 2004 season, Burnett contested her pet event at the 46th SAC Relays in California where she clocked 2:01.65 seconds to place second in the women's 800-metre behind arch-rival American Chantee Earl who returned 2:01.34.
Her performance, while it is 0.4 seconds off the qualifying time for the `B' standard, betters the national mark of 2:01.71 she set in July 2003 at a meet in Croatia. It is the third time this year that she has broken local records.
She twice set new marks at indoor 800-metre events, first at the Adidas Games in Boston, then at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Hungary.
Burnett was quoted to have said after her 2:01.65 run that she was pleased with her performance as an outdoor season opener.
Burnett is now listed at #30 in the IAAF list of 800m top times for 2004 while her compatriot Aliann Pompey is listed at #25 in the list of 400m top times.