Source: www.trinidadexpress.com
By Kwame Laurence
Former Olympic sprinter Georgie Lewis passed away last Thursday. He was 94.
Lewis was part of Trinidad and Tobago's first ever Olympic team, a contingent of five athletes and four officials selected to represent the country at the 1948 Games, in London, England. The Arima-born athlete won his first round heat in the men's 100 metres dash in 10.8 seconds, securing a lane in the quarterfinal round. He finished fourth in his quarterfinal heat, just missing out on a berth in the semis.
"The first 60, he was up with them," Cecil Walker, a former Director of Sport in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, told the Express. "It was in the last 40 he was beaten."
Lewis also competed in the 200m at the 1948 Olympics, bowing out in the opening round.
"Georgie was not in any big club," Walker explained, "and had to hustle money to go to the Olympics. He was already married to Lystra Lewis (deceased) and she assisted. He had said that one lady cared for him so much, but all she could give was a penny, and she did. It was all that she had and Georgie really appreciated it."
Walker said Lewis had the potential to achieve a lot more than he did in athletics.
"Georgie had no scientific methods of training. He was an uncoached athlete, and he was light. Had he picked up the sport earlier, and with correct guidance...
"In his earlier years, he played lots of cricket and football. He was a good goalkeeper for Arima Sporting Club. In his 20s he picked up track," and at the 1948 Olympics was already 32.
"But in Arima," Walker continued, "there were races on the block, and Georgie used to beat everybody as a teenager. One evening, a badjohn, 'Spratt' Holford lost to Georgie and conceded that Georgie was the faster man."
With that victory, Lewis earned the unofficial title of "Fastest Man in Arima". He would go on to become the fastest man in T&T, officially. In fact, Lewis was crowned national double sprint champion in 1946, winning the 100-yard and 220-yard titles. He repeated the feat in 1948. At the 1947 Championships, the Arimian completed an even more impressive double, striking gold in the 100-yard and 440-yard events.
Walker recalled that Lewis "unofficially equalled the world record in the 100 yards" in Guyana, "his best hunting ground".
"He ran 9.4 but it was windy and the track was not marked properly."
Lewis' funeral service takes place tomorrow, at the Santa Rosa RC Church, Woodford Street, Arima, starting at 1.30 p.m..
Walker, a close friend of Lewis, is expected to deliver the eulogy.
"Georgie was very modest, simple, unassuming.
"He kept abreast of everything. The last time we spoke, we spoke about Usain Bolt and the new strategies in athletics.
"Georgie was ailing," Walker continued, "but it did not prevent him from doing things. Up to Monday, he was planning to go to Port of Spain to lime, as usual. He was dressed, but was not feeling up to mark."