No bone to pick - Stokes says no issue with Olympic Skeleton rep Watson after switch of allegiance

Chris Stokes, president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, said the association saw no reason to deny Anthony Watson, the nation’s first Olympic skeleton representative, a switch of allegiance to Puerto Rico, and that there is no resentment towards the athlete for his decision.

Watson became the first Jamaican to compete in skeleton racing at the Olympics after his switch from the United States to Jamaica before qualifying for the Games.

However, after three years competing under the Jamaican flag, the America-born athlete, who is also eligible to represent Puerto Rico by virtue of his mother, decided months ago that he wants to represent his mother’s country of birth.

Stokes contends that although the 30-year-old Watson played a massive role in bringing world attention to Jamaica in the event, he does not have much more to offer the programme, and noting that the administration saw no reason to prevent him from representing the US territory.

INVESTING LOCALLY

He said they are also looking to invest in local athletes with Olympic and World Championship potential, and they believe they have two very promising prospects in Kemar Stewart and Audra Segree.

“Personally, I have found him (Watson) [to be] an outstanding young man with a work ethic and disposition that is very pleasant. We are glad he was able to qualify for the Olympics. He approached us to compete for Jamaica, which we didn’t object to as that is his birthright. And it was very good for him to get an opportunity to represent the country, and I believe he did very well,” said Stokes.

“However, he contacted us earlier this year to say he wished to move on and compete for Puerto Rico, and we considered that within the context of our mission and purpose, which is, finding bobsleigh and skeleton talent in Jamaica and invest in and develop the athletes with an aim of making world champions.

“Second, we play a part in national development by giving Jamaicans who live in Jamaica an opportunity to improve their lives through sports, and those are the two things we are focused on. Anthony is not central to either one of those plans,” Stokes underlined.

Watson, a track athlete in his junior years, competed in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m until a knee injury cut his career short. He turned to skeleton racing in 2013 and competed for three years in the American bobsled and skeleton programme. However, on leaving the US programme, Watson, who was ranked 79th in the world at the time, decided to compete for his father’s country.

But even though his competition results did not qualify him automatically, he got a bye to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea after a number of individuals from other nations did not take up their spots.

However, Stokes says they are now looking to young talent like Stewart and Segree to take skeleton racing to the next level.

“We are looking at people who can win races and be World and Olympic champions. Jamaicans who we can get an opportunity to compete, and they are Kemar Stewart and Audra Segree, and we are focusing our energy on developing these skeleton athletes,” Stokes said. “So there was no objection or second thought on releasing Anthony. He is a real gentleman who represented us well, but he is not somebody that any of our coaches had plans to go on with.

“If he goes and compete for Puerto Rico and qualify Puerto Rico, that is an important development for the sport. So it’s a win-win, and we have a very good relationship with the Puerto Rican Federation, and we were very willing to work with them on this,” he added.