Tourists visiting The Bahamas will now see the photographs of an additional seven athletes on the Bahamas Wall of Fame at the Nassau International airport.
The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture conducted a ceremony this past Saturday, inside the airport’s V.I.P Lounge, in honour of this year’s inductees to the Wall of Fame.
“It’s a pleasure to be on the wall of fame with so many great athletes,” said ‘Superman’ Leevan Sands. “It is easy to give up; I had so many chances to give up in my life, from injuries and other struggles, but I didn’t give up and today it’s an honour,” he added.
Sands, who is the 2005 CAC long jump champion, NCAA Division I outdoor triple jump champion, fourth place finisher at this year’s World Championships and is ranked fifth in the world in the triple jump, was just one of the inductees.
From the list of inductees who are still competing, Sands was joined by track stars Dominic Demeritte and Christine Amertil.
National record holder Demeritte has won a bronze medal in the men’s 200 metres at the IAAF World Indoor championships, and also had a gold at those same championships in 2004. He will go down in history as the last World Indoor champion over 200 metres as that event won’t be contested anymore at future meets.
Amertil, who was called a ‘class act’ by Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Neville Wisdom, is a 400 metre specialist but also ran the 200 metres at this year’s World Championships.
“As soon as we find grounds to be conquered, we somehow conquer it,” said Wisdom. ” If you have a society that is not prepared to honour those that have done great things, then you have a sick society,” he added.
Sloane ‘Bunty’ Farrington was also inducted onto the Wall of Fame. Farrington was a pioneer in the sport of sailing and laid the foundation for the sport to develop to what it is today in The Bahamas. He won the first Olympic gold medal for The Bahamas in 1948 along with Sir Durward Knowles.
Wenty Ford, the stellar baseball player who is heralded from his rise from amateur play to the major leagues, was another inductee. The late Ford is often called one of the best pitchers The Bahamas has ever seen and was a vital member of the Atlanta Braves organization in the major leagues.
Additionally, John Danny Smith, a great Bahamian sprinter, added to his legacy with his induction on the Wall of Fame. Smith is already a member of Florida State University Hall of Fame and The Bahamas Hall of Fame. He tied the world record twice in the 50 metre hurdles and was the first male ever to get consecutive NCAA championship wins in the event.
Bahamian boxing legend Everette ‘Elisha Obed’ Ferguson, was also inducted. Ferguson, who boxed for 21 years, was the world welterweight champion and finished his career with an impressive 88 wins and 29 knockouts.
Sir Arlington Butler, President of The Bahamas Olympic Association, made a plea for photographs of the athletes to be sent to all schools around the country and to post offices, hospitals and other workplaces, so that the athletes are not only recognized by those visiting The Bahamas.
The seven inductees will join the likes of Tonique Williams-Darling, Debbie Ferguson, Chandra Sturrup, Savetheda Fynes, Frank Rutherford, Mark Knowles, Avard Moncur and Andre Rodgers on the Wall of Fame.
From: The Nassau Guardian
