Six Belizean Athletes Score Major Olympic Funding

For every Belizean athlete chasing greatness, the dream is simple: train hard, compete at the highest level, and make the country proud. But for six young stars, that dream just got a major boost. Thanks to Olympic Solidarity, they’re now getting paid to do what they love: train, improve, and push their limits. It’s a game-changer for these dedicated and decorated athletes, who’ve spent years grinding for glory. So, how does this program work, and what does it mean for Belize’s sporting future? Shane Williams has the full story.

 

Shane Williams, Reporting

No Belizean has ever qualified to the Olympic Games but Allan Sharp, the new President of the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, says his committee will do all they can to ensure that changes and individual sports are our best shot at that goal.

 

Allan Sharp, President, Belize Olympic Committee

“ Now, let’s be very honest, it’s going to be much easier and faster and more economic for an individual athlete or a small sport like three Andree basketball to get to the Olympics or get to PanAm versus big teams. That’s just the reality. First of all, in big teams, they only allow or not allow, the host wants to cut down money. In the expense of only eight teams usually are at team sports. Eight. Imagine that in this side of the world already you got plenty bigger than us.”

 

The best hope for small countries like Belize to qualify for the Olympics is in individual sports. That is why the International Olympic Academy is providing eighteen thousand dollars per month through their Olympic Solidarity Program to assist six promising athletes with funds for training and development.

 

Allan Sharp

“These scholarships are for individual athletes from individual sports, and you can see the highlights. There are six athletes total, equal number of male and female. They receive directly from Olympic solidarity fifteen hundred U.S. dollars per month, and they will receive that through to September 2028. Those funds are in theory for them to become elite athlete, be full-time athlete. Of course, fifteen hundred a month can not cut it at the, for, for our cost of living, but it’s to try and get them there as best as possible, so approximately three thousand per month they’re receiving.”

 

All six athletes have already performed exceptionally in the region at the junior level and believe the scholarship will allow them to focus on training and achieve new personal best performance.

 

Nyasha Harris, Track & Field Athlete

“My name is Niasha and my top, uh, my peak performance would be at the Central American Games this year. Um, I play second in the 100 meter with a personal record of eleven eighty-five. My next goal would definitely be to break it to a lower time and as well to get my 200 to a lower time as. Well, um, the scholarship would be, would help greatly with helping funding with, the transportation to competitions, accommodations. And, you know, even with my daily lifestyle.”

 

Derrick Chavarria, Cycling Athlete

“My name is Derek Chavarria. So far I think my peak performance has definitely been fifth at the Junior Pan American Games. Um, competed against a lot of big countries that you’ve seen. Made it to tour France. So that’s you know, I was pretty satisfied with that performance. Moving forward for sure I’d like to branch off into the. Side of the world that mainly involves cycling, where all you see the talent that’s in Europe, so you, you see all the bigger countries are from there. So for sure I’d like to get over there and you know, experience it. So obviously to be in an in environment, is gonna be hard itself train and racing there against the guys that breed cycling.”

 

While these scholarships are for individual sports, team sports will benefit from more than nine hundred thousand dollars in the next two months. Shane Williams reporting for News Five.