RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Joe Ryan, a longtime assistant coach for the Manhattan College track & field program, has been appointed as head coach of the Guyanese National Team for the upcoming World Championships, which will take place from Aug. 22-30 in Beijing, China. This is the second time he will act as Guyana's national head coach. Ryan previously served in the role at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I've been to Beijing before, and I'm looking forward to going back and renewing some old acquaintances,” Ryan said. “I have a lot of happy memories from the Olympics. The only disappointment was Aliann (Pompey) barely missing the final.”
Pompey, the 2000 NCAA indoor champion in the 400 meters, finished 11th in the event at the 2008 Olympics after setting a Guyanese national record of 50.93 seconds in the semifinals. The four-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) continued working with Ryan after her graduation from Manhattan, which is how he became involved with the Guyanese National Team.
After coaching Pompey at six consecutive World Championships from 2001-11, Ryan has traveled to the last two editions (Moscow 2013, Beijing 2015) with Winston George, who also runs the 400. He first developed a relationship with George at the 2012 London Olympics, where Ryan was a team official, and the Guyanese Federation allows George to spend most of the year training in New York under Ryan.
“It's nice to see Winston picking up the mantle from Aliann and continuing the tradition,” Ryan said. “He's been running well, and I really think he has a good shot at making the semifinals.”
On June 14, George set a national record of 45.31 seconds in the 400 during the Adidas Grand Prix meet at Icahn Stadium on Randal's Island. He made the 400-meter final at the Pan American Games, finishing sixth, and has already achieved the qualifying standard for next summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympics, marking the seventh straight Olympics in which at least one Ryan-coached athlete will be competing (1992-Windel Dickerson, 1996-Dine Potter).
Joining George on Guyana's team in Beijing will be Andrea Foster, who's entered in both the women's 800 meters and 1500 meters. In addition, Pompey, who retired from competition after the 2012 Olympics, will be Guyana's team leader at the World Championships. She was recently elected to an eight-year term on the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) Athlete Commission and is running for a similar position with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), track & field's world governing body.
