by O'Neil A. Reid, posted on 9/24/2009
A Manhattan College (New York)
graduate, she has represented
The Land of Many Waters at three
Olympics: 2000, 2004 and 2008
At 31, Guyana’s Aliann Pompey has just completed one of the most successful seasons of her career, highlighted by an 11th place finish in the women’s 400m at the World Championships in Berlin. In that race, Aliann ran 50.71 secs, her personal best and a new national record for her country.
The Georgetown-born Pompey, who has the body frame of a distance runner, went to the top of the winner’s podium for capturing gold in the 400m (51.63) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. That aside, she has been a constant competitor on the international track scene for more than nine years. Her career highpoints include a third place finish (52.06) at the 2003 Pan American Games held in the Dominican Republic.
Pompey, a Manhattan College (New York) graduate, has represented Guyana, known also as “The Land of many waters”, at three Olympics (2000, 2004 and 2008). She finished fourth in the semifinals in both Beijing (50.93) and Berlin (50.71), and is experiencing a rejuvenation of sorts as she looks forward to the upcoming indoor season. But what do we know about the other side of Aliann Pompey?
Born in Guyana, geographically South American but culturally Caribbean, Aliann grew up there until she migrated to the United States in 1992 when she was 14 years old. In Guyana, she had no interest in track and field. “I had only one race in secondary school and there were only two of us in the race,” she points out. Her sister, Shella, on the other hand, was the track-star and did very well.
For the three years that Aliann spent in secondary school in Guyana, she focused more on academics. She remembers spending a lot of time at the library, reading; however, she found the time to play cricket and do other sports, sometimes “just for fun."
Aliann started competing in the 100m and 200m during the last month of her junior year at Cohoes High School upstate New York. In her senior year, she competed in both indoor and outdoor, specializing in the sprint double (100m and 200m.)
College Years
She signed with the Manhattan College Jaspers during the early part of her senior year, at which point she was running 59-58 secs in the 400m.
“I didn’t really think it was hard, I just didn’t know how to run it. I never had a game plan, I just went out and run it,” she recalls. But as her senior year progressed, Aliann reduced her time by 6 seconds over a 3-4 week period to 53 secs. She won the highly competitive 400m title at the New York State Championships in 1995, capping a spectacular high school senior year.
“I think Manhattan College got me at a bargain” joked Aliann, who as a college freshman, broke the 200m national record.
Aliann explained that “at Manhattan College I competed in the 200m, 400m and 500m but I never ran the 100m.” She set school records in all three events outdoors. However, she never liked to run the 200m indoors because she had a problem with the sharp curve.
The two female athletes Aliann admired the most during her years with the Jaspers were Althea Tyndall of Seton Hall University and Ameerah Bello of Morgan State University. Ameerah could win anything from the 55m to the 60m and Althea was a great sportswoman. In 2000, her final year in college, Aliann won the 400m title at the NCCA Indoor Championship in Arkansas, and become the first female national champion for the Jaspers.
After earning a degree from Manhattan College, where she majored in Finance and minored in Communications, Aliann became a professional athlete and went on to represent Guyana at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She later pursued a master’s degree in Business Administration while running on the indoor and outdoor circuits.
Unlike several other athletes, Aliann no longer engages in prerace rituals. However, she tries to relax and get mentally ready for her races. “I used to have a special chain and a pair of lucky spikes. I lost the chain and it took a while to get used to running without it. So, I got rid of the spikes and have stayed away from prerace rituals,” she says.
Food, Music and More
A true Guyanese woman, Aliann loves pepper pot, her country’s national dish. “I think my grandmother makes the best pepper pot,” she says.
The quarter-miler’s nutrition is pretty typical, though. “I've never had to worry about my weight, so I focus on foods that give me energy at the right time for my practices, and [foods] that would help speed up my recovery.” That aside, she succumbs to most of her whims and eats what she want. She thanks her parents for what she calls “their amazing genes.”
In regard to her training regiment, Pompey, who is more of a strength runner, spends a lot of time fine-tuning certain areas by trying to increase her speed over the shorter distances. “I'm over 30, so my coach takes all that into consideration when structuring my workouts.”
Aliann’s interest takes her outside of track. At one point, she wanted to become a writer or journalist, hence she minored in Communications. And she continues to like other sports. Her favorite non-track athlete is former West Indies cricketer Clive Lloyd and her love of tennis also puts Venus Williams and Pete Sampras right up there on her list of favorites.
“I like a variety of music, depending on my mood, from the old-school Teddy Pendergrass and Stevie Wonder to a little county: Tammy Wynette and Kenny Rogers.”
When Aliann isn’t running track, she works as a day-trader and spends time working with and mentoring young people though a non-profit program in New York City. “I have learned to be a good role model and I take my mentoring program very seriously,” she says. “After retiring from track I hope to do more work in that area.”
Berlin, Beijing Reflections
When asked to recapture her golden run in Manchester, Pompey said: “I can't tell you what I was thinking. I'm not sure if I could tell you what I was thinking in Beijing last year. I just remember being extremely happy.
“After I made the final in Manchester, I was asked what I thought my chances were of winning were. I said I wouldn't know until I warmed up and got to the line.” Some hours before the final, Aliann spoke with her father and sister. Like a fortune teller at work, her sister asked her if she knew all the words to the Guyanese national anthem. “I said, ‘of course’, and she said: ‘good, you may need to...’”
The victory was a great feeling for Aliann, who says her mental preparation was no different from how she prepares for other championship meets. She liked that there were four rounds because she gets better with the rounds.
Even though Aliann won gold in Manchester, she described the Beijing Olympics as the best experience she ever had competing on the international stage. “Maybe it’s because I ran a personal best. But I also think it was great competition both for fans and athletes. After my race was over, I stuck around and explored the city and checked out the sights and the other events. The atmosphere was great. I really enjoyed myself”, she recalls.
Pompey, who has been conditioned by the same coach (Joe Ryan) since she went to college in 1995, pointed out that her goal this season was to make the finals at the World Championship in Berlin. “I did not achieve that goal but overall I am happy with my season. I had a personal best of 50.71 and I feel I can go faster.”
Looking to the future, Aliann said: “I will run in the upcoming indoor season and see how I do. That will dictate my outdoor plans. I am now taking it a season at a time.”
Would the 5’6” Guyanese gem consider running the 800m at some point? “I've run about three or four 800m in my career. My best is just under 2:04 but that was about eight years ago,” she says. “It gets really physical on the track in the 800. I am a tiny person, so I try to stay away from that kind of contact.”
But while Aliann Pompey is focusing on the indoor season, her alma mater is planning something big for her. On November 15, Manhattan College will induct her into it
s Hall of Fame.
Check out Aliann's Web site at www.aliannpompey.com
Filed Under: Women's 400m