St. John's University Athletics
Pompey Elected To Pan American Sports Organization Athlete Commission
7/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's Sprints Coach Aliann Pompey has been elected as a member of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) Athlete Commission. The announcement was made on Sunday, the final day of the 2015 Pan American Games, by PASO Athlete Commission Chair Alexandra Orlando.
Pompey, a native of Georgetown, Guyana, becomes the second track & field athlete ever elected to the commission and one of its 11 total members. In 2011, the first PASO Athlete Commission was elected at the Guadalajara Pan American Games.
"I am more than elated to be elected to this position. More than anything, it says that my peers in the region trust my judgment and believe that I will act in their best interest," said Sprints Pompey. "That's a sobering and exciting thought, and I am up to the task. I can't wait to start."
Each time the Pan American Games are held, the commission elects four athletes that are nominated by their National Olympic Committees to serve eight year terms. This year, the PASO Athlete Commission received nine nominations from each respective National Olympic Committee, with four elects to serve from 2015-2023: Pompey, Adriana Escobar (El Salvador, Rowing), Carlos J Santiago Alicea (Puerto Rico, Judo) and Thaigo Pereila (Brazil, Swimming).
According to Orlando, the mission of the athlete commission "is to be a strong voice for the athletes within the Pan American Sports Organization and to ensure that the athletes' point of view is taken into consideration in PASO's decisions through our roles on the Executive Council and additional commissions."
In this new role, Pompey has the ability to work closely with the International Olympic Committee and other Continental Athlete Commissions to share information and enhance programming across the regions for athletes to excel both on and off the field of play.
"We are very proud and pleased of Coach Pompey's election to the PASO Athletic Commission and would like to congratulate her for this accomplishment," said Head Coach Jim Hurt. "Aliann's election reflects the esteem she has amongst the athletes from the entire Pan American community and the confidence they have in her to represent them on issues that directly impact them. They know that Aliann is an exceptionally caring person who has the work ethic, intellect, and determination to make things better. She has made a positive impact on our program in her first year and she will do the same as a member of the commission over her eight year term."
The former NCAA Champion at Manhattan College came to coach St. John's after an impressive, world-class athletic career and she is certainly no stranger to the International stage. Pompey represented her native Guyana at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in addition to participating in the World Championships in Athletics five times and the IAAF World Indoor Championships on four occasions. As a 400-meter specialist, she owns the South American indoor record of 51.83 seconds at the distance, and adds a gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.
Since retiring from competition following the London Olympic Games, Pompey has dedicated her time to youth both on and off the track. She volunteers part of her time to Armory College Prep, a non-profit college access and success program that works to get high school students from New York City's "high need" schools into college.
In her role as sprints coach on the track, Pompey has helped lead the St. John's Track & Field team to BIG EAST Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the 4x400-meter relay and the 400-meter sprint. She has also guided sprinters Pariis Garcia and Maya Stephens to international levels of competition as Garcia ran this past weekend for Puerto Rico in the 2015 Pan American Games and Stephens gets ready to compete for Canada in the 2015 Pan American Junior Championships next weekend.
Players Mentioned
