Riverdale, NY (August 17, 2004)- Former track & field star Aliann Pompey ('00) will be running the 400m for the Guyanese national team in the 2004 Athens Olympics. This is not Pompey's first appearance in the olympic games as she competed in the 2000 Sydney Games where she finished last in her heat. This year she was also honored with carrying Guyana's flag into the Olympic Stadium to open the ceremony.
Pompey has been preparing for the olympics since she qualified for the Guyanese team in 2003 at a meet in Poland. She has only been improving since her qualifying run breaking the Guyanese national 400m record three times since May 23 where she captured second place with a 51.11 finish in Brazil. She recently broke the record for the third time on July 17 in Madrid finishing in a time of 50.93. On June 11 she finished the 400m in 51.09 seconds finishing fourth behind world leader Tonique Williams-Darling of the Bahamas (49.78). At the Thessaloniki meet, in Greece, Pompey finished first in 51.02 seconds on July 19.
At Manhattan College, Pompey was the first female to ever win a National Championship Title. In 2000, she won the Indoors 400m race at the University of Arkansas with a time of 52.27 seconds. Pompey currently holds the school indoor record in the 400m (52.21) and the 500m (1:09.23) set at the NCAA Championships in March 2000. She also holds two outdoor records in the 200m (23.59) that was broken in May 1997 at the ECAC Championships in Fairfax, VA and the 400m (52.52) which was broken at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami, FL in March 2000.
Pompey begins her second Olympic journey on Saturday, August 21st at 2:45am local time. The semi-final race begins at 3:15pm local time on Sunday, August 22nd. On Tuesday, August 24th the finals will be held at 3:50pm local time.
