media_artricles :: 2013

Peru courting T&T for Pan Am vote

Peru came courting Trinidad and Tobago’s vote on Wednesday in its bid to host the 2019 Pan American Games in the coastal capital city of Lima.

Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (T&TOC) president, Brian Lewis hosted Peru National Olympic Committee (CONP) president Jose Quiñones Gonzales as the Peruvian pitched his country’s bid presentation to the T&TOC.

In the ensuing media conference at Olympic House, on Abercromby Street in Port of Spain, Gonzales said his country had three reasons it wanted to host the quadrennial Games—expansion, experience and energy.

“We are the only one of the four countries that has never received the honour to host the (Pan Am) Games,” Gonzales said, whose country Peru is in competition with Chile, Argentina and Venezuela. “There’s a new market for everybody and it would be wonderful for everybody to see a middle-sized country can organise these Games and I am dreaming of the Games being in Trinidad and Tobago one day, maybe.”

T&TOC president Lewis said T&T was the 21st country Peru had visited in its campaign, exactly halfway through the 42 Pan American Sport Organisation (PASO) members. The visit follows the July 4 visit of the Chile National Olympic Committee.

Lewis said the final decision on which country would host the 2019 Games would be made at the October 11 PASO General Assembly in Toronto, Canada.

While Lewis said he could not disclose the details of the presentation or commit the T&TOC vote at this point, he did give hints of what in the Peruvian bid impressed him.

“One of the positive aspects of Peru’s bid is that they are offering free accommodation for athletes up to 30 days before the start of the Games so that athletes can get acclimatised,” Lewis said, adding that the T&TOC would consult with its medical expert Dr Terry Ali before forming an opinion on that offer.

Lewis said that besides the sporting considerations in terms of proper athlete and personnel facilities and accommodations, proper anti-doping procedures, etc., the T&TOC would also consider the legacy element of how Peru would be using the Games to transform its society.

Lewis described the scheduled timing of the multi-sport Games—to be hosted in July 2019 as opposed to the usual and traditional March and October starts-as interesting.

But Lewis said that when the time comes to vote for the host country at the PASO General Assembly, the T&TOC will make a decision in the best interest of the athletes and the TTOC’s Olympic goal of winning ten gold medals by the 2024 Games.

“By 2019...that will be one year before the 2020 Olympics, so it (Pan Am) is going to be an important Games for T&T, and in any event we always try to look at each bid on its merit and put primarily the best interest of the athletes, and we don’t make any demands of the potential host country that is outside the rules and regulations.”

On the experience side, Gonzales said Peru had earned the right to host the Pan Am Games because it had already hosted three World Championships, two Olympic qualifying events and many regional and subcontinental Games.

Gonzales also spoke about the importance of the legacy aspect to his country. Explaining that Peru wanted to create role models, he pointed to the example of javelin thrower Keshorn Walcott, and how his gold medal performance at the London Olympics had injected a new spirit in this country.

“What we have done is added credibility to our bid proposal, and we can demonstrate that we are not only going to do but we are doing, and organising events, so we have the capacity now. I also believe we (T&T and Peru) have the same values about sport transforming the lives of people and the society,” said Gonzales, adding that Peruvians also had the same friendly attitude towards visitors as T&T.

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