(The Bahamas) – A new commemorative stamp to mark the 2012 London Olympic Games was issued by the Post Office Department on June 26. According to the Post Office Department the release of this special Games stamp “was a wonderful way for us to show the athletes, coaches, executives of the various sporting disciplines how much we as a nation appreciate their commitment and determination for their success in the various sporting disciplines.
The 2012 Olympic Games are the third to be held in London. In 1908 the games were scheduled to be held in Rome, but the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 led to them being to London. The 1944 Olympics were also to have been held in London, but were deferred to 1948 due to the world war. It was these games that saw for the first time, two leading yachtsmen from The Bahamas (Durward Knowles and Sloan Farrington) qualify for the Olympics. However, as The Bahamas had no Olympic Committee they represented Great Britain and only narrowly missed a medal (they were placed 4th overall) despite a broken mast and a disqualification.
As a result of their outstanding performance, their Bahamian supporters were determined to have them sail for The Bahamas in the 1952 Olympics; and so it was, with the Helsinki Olympics only months away, that on 8th May 1952, prominent sports leaders and and members of the Bahamas House of Assembly met to form the Bahamas Olympic Association (now the Bahamas Olympic Committee).
Since that Olympic experience, the founding members of the Bahamas Olympic Committee have, through their efforts many years ago, left a legacy upon which today’s Association members continue to nurture and sustain the local Olympic movement. Over the years members have sought out Bahamians not only with athletic talent, but those who carry within the spirit of the ideal Olympian, a spirit of the highest ideals and boundless determination balanced by a sense of belonging to the brotherhood of man. All energies have been directed toward ensuring that these elite athletes have been afforded every opportunity for success at the Olympic Games. Much of the Association’s efforts have also been directed toward rallying financial support from our community so that our country is represented at all major sporting events regionally and internationally.
In Helsinki in 1952 the team again included Sir Durward Knowles and Sloan Farrington who won the country’s first bronze medal in the Star Class sailing event. Sir Durward Knowles and Sloan Farrington went on to win a bronze medal in Melbourne in 1956; and a gold medal, with Cecil Cook as crew, in Tokyo ion 1964. Sir Durward continued competing in the Olympic sailing for a record of eight Olympics, the last being Pusan, Korea in 1988 at the age of 70, making him one of the oldest and most successful Olympians. Starting out as a small organisation with one competitive sport, yachting, The Bahamas now has many world class athletes in a variety of disciplines. These accomplishments can only be attributable to association coaches, parents and support structures, and the athletes’ sacrifices over the years that contribute to these kinds of results.
One hundred and twenty-five Bahamian athletes have competed in in seven different disciplines in the Olympics: Athletics, Boxing, Cycling, Swimming, Tennis, Wrestling and Yachting. The Olympic Games is the greatest sporting event in the world and The Bahamas is planning to send its best team ever to London 2012, with the hope and determination to again have our athletes on the medal stand.
