Alia: Only because you are that good
THE EDITOR, Sir: TO ALIA Atkinson, and to all our other athletes who may not have achieved all that they had set out to accomplish at Rio 2016, I’d like to acknowledge your disappointment and express my own regret – to the extent that I did look forward to celebrating your victories with you.
About disappointment: disappointments only come, when there are expectations. Reasonable expectations are based on authentic, demonstrated ability, the integrity of which a single off-day or occasion cannot really compromise. You’re all still as good as we thought you were leading up to the Olympics. You still possess champion qualities – complete with the doubtless ability to bounce back, and prove (yet again) your prowess.
True, Olympics is a defining moment in any athlete’s life, and to act as if not winning, or at least medalling, doesn’t matter, is to deny an athlete the acknowledgement of the hard work that would have gone into preparing for this quadrennial event.
Handled properly though, disappointment is an excellent tonic to boost a higher and more clinical level of future performance, and may prove itself to be the catalyst to your greatest performance yet. Use your disappointment wisely, therefore, and claim your dream, knowing (for what it is worth) that all Jamaica is waiting to celebrate you. We love you Alia; we love all our athletes. CHARLES EVANS Northern Caribbean University charles.evans@ncu.edu.jm