It’s official. According to an International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) release yesterday on the updated list of women’s Olympic qualifiers following the second qualifier on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Marisa Dick will be the first to represent T&T in artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games in Rio. The sporting event is set for August 5-21.
Dick placed 55th from 66 competitors in the Aquece Rio final gymnastics qualifier at the Rio Olympics Arena after replacing Thema Williams, who was withdrawn from the event by the T&T Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) because it was reported she was suffering with a sore ankle and did not perform at a high level during one of her training days.
In a tweet on Sunday, T&T Olympic Committee president Brian Lewis said: “As long as people understand it’s @TTOlympic that has the final say in respect of #TeamTTO selection for the Olympic Games. Plain talk.”
However, a source close to the proceedings said that there was not much that the TTOC could do.
“The TTOC can reject the spot but they can’t replace Marisa. The TTGF has the final say. TTOC can’t do anything. It’s either Marisa goes or no one goes. That’s the options,” said the source, who is very close to the matter.
Saying the whole situation has left a sour note, the source added: “The sport is growing and this issue has put a bad image internationally.”
The source compared T&T qualifying for the Olympics in gymnastics to the national football team qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
“This country was just happy when the Soca Warriors qualified for the World Cup. We knew it was unlikely that we were going to the win the competition but just knowing that we had achieved such a great goal was momentous.
“The joy would have been that a gymnast for the first time from T&T has qualified. They (TTCG) won’t understand the importance of the achievement.
“The chance was taken from one young lady and given to another. It’s not racial although some are saying it’s about race. Marisa has become a bitter pill. It hurts me to see what they did to both Marisa and Thema,” the source added
The source said it was unknown who made the decision to pull Williams and did not want to speculate as to who among the council members were responsible.
At the heart of the controversy is who made the decision to pull Williams from the event.
It was reported that according to the player’s contract the head of delegation, the physiotherapist, coach and the athlete must be consulted before removal of the athlete can be executed.
The source added that Nicole Fuentes, who was listed as head of delegation and physiotherapist, will submit a report that will reveal what actually transpired. John Geddert was Williams’s coach.
The TTGF council is made up of 19 members, including the president, the first vice- president, second vice-president, general secretary, assistant secretary, who recently resigned, treasurer and assistant treasurer and heads of each standing committees — Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG), which would have had a vote according to the source, Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG), coaching body, rhythmic and general gymnastics. Two representatives from each committee are on the council.
The source said that the coach indicated in an email that Williams was injured so the TTGF did nothing wrong in that sense.
“But the fact is, Thema would have gone to Rio even if she had an acute injury. All elite athletes have injuries. It was acute not chronic. That’s normal for any elite athlete.
“It was not a medalling competition. The purpose was to go to Rio and earn a spot from the competition where only the last two finishers did not qualify. Thema more than could have made it.
“She could have performed. There was nothing at stake in terms of winning medals. TTGF’s goal was to send Marisa,” the source added.