RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Former Manhattan College track & field star Aliann Pompey '99 and current Jaspers Assistant Coach Joe Ryan will be marching in the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics on Friday night. Pompey will run the 400 meters for her native Guyana, while Ryan is a team official for the Guyanese delegation.
London marks Pompey's fourth straight Olympic appearance. She made her Olympic debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney, and also participated in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games. In Beijing, Pompey finished 11th overall and set a Guyanese national record of 50.93 seconds in the semifinals.
Ryan is returning to the Olympics for the second time after serving as Guyana's head track & field coach four years ago. He will be providing a first-hand account of his Olympic experience through a blog at GoJaspers.com.
Pompey's opening round heat in the 400 meters will take place at 7 a.m. EDT (12 p.m. in London) on Friday, Aug. 3. The semifinals are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. EDT (8:05 p.m.) on Saturday, Aug. 4, with the final at 4:10 p.m. EDT (9:10 p.m.) the following day. All three rounds will be webcast live on NBCOlympics.com, as well as televised on tape delay during NBC's network coverage.
