The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has selected a list of chefs de mission for the next six major international campaigns.
Former national squash player Karen Anderson will lead Jamaica’s delegation to the 2022 Caribbean Games, Rudolph Speid takes Jamaica to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, Paulton Gordon will assume duties for the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, while Nicole Grant Brown will be at the helm for the Pan Am Games.
Corporate business executive Ian Kelly will be the delegation leader for the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 while businessman and sports administrator Gregory Moore takes the helm for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
In a release, the JOA said the broad and varied selection exemplifies the association’s quest to bring a higher level of leadership across the spectrum of sports in Jamaica.
“The JOA will continue to not only professionalise the management of the Games under our remit but will continue to provide opportunities for our members to participate in the space and to make meaningful contributions to the Jamaican sporting arena,” said General-Secretary Ryan Foster.
“We believe in providing an avenue for all, as sport does not reside with one person or association but we all have our own contribution to make. The naming of the chefs de mission for the various games is a broad representation of what we have articulated in our Sport for All campaign,” Foster added.
REWARDING APPOINTMENT
For Anderson, who has represented Jamaica in shooting and squash, her appointment is rewarding on several levels.
“It is a great honour to represent my country as the chef de mission for the Caribbean Games. I have represented Jamaica as a player, a referee, and coach at both Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games, so going into sports administration as the chef de mission for multi-sport games is almost a natural transition for me,” she said.
Paulton Gordon heads the Jamaica Basketball Association and has led the fraternity on several international campaigns. For him, this is yet another opportunity to grow and develop as an administrator as well as another feather in his cap on a personal level.
“I am elated to serve,” he said. “It will provide me with a more rounded view of the dynamics involved in a multi-sport, multi-cultural environment. It will certainly broaden my knowledge base and competence in planning, organising and coordinating the participation of a large contingent at a major sporting event.”
Following on the heels of businessman and JOA director Gary Peart being named chef de mission for Jamaica’s successful and history-making campaign at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan in 2021, Ian Kelly, Derrimon Trading chief financial officer and director of many corporate boards, follows in a similar fashion for the Paris Games in 2026.
Similarly, president of Jamaica Esports Initiative, Gregory Moore, cites his opportunity as one that will create synergies that will foster a changed mindset as it relates to sports in Jamaica.
