Last Wednesday, June 23, was commemorated worldwide as Olympic Day. However, while the world has been grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, St Vincent and the Grenadines has more on its hands.

President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee (SVGOC) Trevor Bailey, in his address to mark Olympic Day, 2021, highlighted the resilience of Vincentians, amidst their plights.

“Despite the many challenges that we have faced over the past year dealing with the COVID-19 global pandemic, Dengue fever, and the destruction caused by La Soufriere Volcano, we can still manage to push on through, because nothing can keep us back,” Bailey underscored in his message.

Extolling the virtues of sports, Bailey noted: “I want to encourage more persons to get involved in sports… It can change your lives for the better… Sports can take you around the world, and by doing so, you learn new things about what the world has to offer… You will discover new places, different cultures and make new friends… Being involved in sports will significantly impact your life for the better, health wise, and it also builds leaders. Sports unite people together”.

Zooming in on the purpose of recognising Olympic Day, Bailey stated, “The goal of celebrating this Day is to encourage participation in sport across the globe, uniting people of different age and gender from various sports and sporting disciplines… It’s about raising awareness about the number of different sports held during this event, with hopes of encouraging more people to be a part of such a tremendous movement and to live a better and healthier life”.

The SVGOC, for the second year running, was not able to host the usual week of activities which would have involved the Olympic Run and sports for all sessions. The main cause was the threats of the coronavirus’ spread, which restricts mass gathering.

The first modern Olympics was held in Athens in 1896, with the participation of 13 nations. The Olympic Games is held every four years, with over 206 countries taking part, from 35 different sports and 53 disciplines.

St Vincent and the Grenadines will participate in Athletics and Swimming at this year’s Olympic Games, slated for Tokyo, Japan, from July 23 to August 8.