 It seems like a long way away, but before you know it, this global sporting spectacle will be splashed across your screen as Sportsmax enters your living room to show you the best from the Caribbean and the world. And to do that, we have assembled a world-class team of hosts, commentators and analysts. And today, we'll be unveiling some of those. I guess the best place to start is with the two gentlemen who are no strangers, Lance Whittaker and Ricardo Chambers, who will be a part of the live track and field commentary team. Gentlemen, take it away, Olympic commentary style. Yes, thank you very much, Mariah Ramara, coming up in league number one for the first event. Lance, a little bit too early, 100 days away, Lance. This is going to be your 7th Olympic Games as a commentator. Yes, although the first couple of them weren't live commentary because I did radio in 1992 and radio and television in 1996 when the Caribbean didn't have live coverage. So I covered but I didn't do live coverage but I was there for those two games. So let me count with you, you did 1992 and 1996, 2000 was the first time you had live coverage. That's right. That was the start for Caribbean coverage, yeah. 2004, 2008, 2012, and Tokyo 2020, which was held in 2021. So this will actually be your 8th Olympic Games and the sixth time that you'll be involved in live commentary for the Caribbean. Yeah, and it's really exciting because to be very honest with you, when we did Sydney in 2000, it felt like we had crossed a bridge, you know, because we had before that been subject to coverage coming from ABC, NBC, CBC, Canada and so on. And the Caribbean had to digest what others saw of our performances. So when we were able to assemble in 2000 for the Sydney Games, when Obadele Thompson won a bronze medal for Barbados, it felt really, really special. And we've been able to achieve that in subsequent Olympic Games. And Tokyo, which I did with you three years ago, felt a little bit different because we did the coverage remotely because of the COVID-19 so on. Our broadcast platform had changed and we decided to do it that way. But it was a pleasure doing coverage with you, Ricardo. You're brilliant. And I think that this Paris Olympics coming up would be pretty special for us all, especially because there are so many, as you touched on at the beginning of the show, so many Caribbean stories to unveil and the likelihood, stroke, possibility of a lot of Caribbean success. Yeah. And history-making success as well, which makes the storylines even more compelling than they've ever been before. So I'm really looking forward to that. Incidentally, Sydney was the first Olympic Games that I watched on television. The very first race I ever saw was Lorraine Fenton in Qualifying for the Women's 400 Meters. And you were on commentary. Yes. With Hubert Lawrence. The late great. Oh, yes. With Hubert Lawrence. That was fantastic. But it is amazing to be at this stage, to now be part of a team that brings the Olympics to the Caribbean because you are right. I grew up hearing a lot of individuals complain about US coverage of the Olympic Games, which did not fit the needs of the Caribbean. And so because of CMC initially and no sports max, we have a platform or we've had platforms that we can tell specific Caribbean stories, which is important. And I want to suggest, Ricardo, that without trying to blow our own horns, I believe that when we do the coverage. Yes, we're Caribbean specific in how we are covering the games. But I don't think, to be honest, that we are guilty of ignoring the global aspect of the performances and ignoring gold and silver medals because we are looking at someone from the Caribbean who is finishing fourth or fifth. I don't think we do that. And the foreign commentators did that, which was very disappointing for us. Yeah. Very much the case and very good point, Lance. I think we're ready now to start the unveiling of some of our analysts that will be part of our team for Paris 2024. Let's start with a returning analyst. He made his debut in Tokyo as part of our live track and field team. His unique insights also added depth to our pre and post discussions. We're talking about Ovideli Thompson. We're going to provide an commentary, analysis, insights and some behind the scenes information, especially focused on our Caribbean athletes as they seek to create history and make our region proud once again against the best athletes in the world. So make sure you tune in to SportsBox for the very best courage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Yeah. You know what? I think I met Ovideli first time, Ricardo, when he was preparing for the 2000s sitting in the Olympics and he would have competed at the Barbados national trials and I was in Barbados at the time and I think that was my first interaction with Ovideli and I must say he had always come across to me as a studious, very serious individual, even in his junior years and his allot life has pretty much portrayed the same thing where he has been this very, very clinical studious individual and it's a pleasure to have him on our team. Yeah. I worked with him for the very first time at the Tokyo Games and I was really impressed with what he delivered, his insights into the sport of track and field, especially as well the mental aspect of the sport that we can under, well, overlook so often and underestimate how important that aspect of sport is and Ovideli, I thought, brought out those areas of the sport and not just track and field but just generally because as you would know Lance, I mean, Oba has expertise that goes beyond the track and field. He knows his basketball very well, table tennis as well and although he didn't speak about those sports specifically for Tokyo, when he did speak, you got the impression that this was a man with tremendous experience and knowledge of what it takes to be among the very best in the world. Yeah. And he's a brilliant academic as well. I guess the Harrison College students watching the show or past students watching the show would want us to emphasize the fact that he went to a top school. So that a school that prepared him well for his adult life and the success that he has had as a professional, as you just mentioned, not only as an athlete but he represented Barbados at the 1996 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, 100 bronze medalists at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, only Barbadian to win an individual Olympic medal and he's of course a Barbados record holder for the 100 and 200 meters at 9.87 and 19.97 seconds. Yeah, outstanding performer and he continues to be outstanding and he will be outstanding, I'm sure, when he is back with the team for the Paris Olympic Games. Another returning live track and field analyst from Tokyo is the former Jamaican 400 meter hurdler, Danielle Dowey, and she has been practicing her French. Bonjour. I'm Danielle Dowey, your track and field analyst for Sports Max is Olympic Games coverage for Paris 2024. I hope you're practicing your French because this August we take you inside the Stade des France for all the nail biting action to come right here on the home of champion. Yeah, Danielle Dowey there. She was 2013 World Athletics Championship 400 meter hurdler, semifinalist, 2009 World Under 18 400 meter silver medalist, 2011 Pan Am Junior 400 meter silver medalist, sports nutritionist. She is author and literary advocate. So, Danielle Dowey, a true track and field avid fan and developing herself as a broadcaster as well. Yeah, has done some coaching in recent years as well either, well, mostly as a consultant, but did some teaching as well at Titchfield High School where she started initially in Portland, Jamaica. And yeah, she has grown tremendously in the last two years and I'm looking forward to what she delivers at the Paris Olympic Games. Yeah, really, really outstanding pleasure to have her and it's always good to have these past athletes joining us on commentary because unlike you and I, Ricardo, who played sport but not at the international level, they can bring that kind of context to the discussions and the coverage as we go along. Yeah, let's now introduce a new member of the team, 2013 world champion of a 400 meter hurdles, JQ Gordon of Trinidad and Tobago. Hi, I'm JQ Gordon, two time Olympian, 2018 world champion of a 400 meter hurdles for Trinidad and Tobago and I'll be part of the sports max team bringing you great coverage come Paris Olympics 2024. Can't wait to see you guys. Yeah, I'm really delighted that JQ is joining the team this time around Lance. He is a special one. Yeah, 2013 world 400 meter hurdles champion in Moscow, 2012 Olympic 400 meter finalist, 2010 world under 2400 meter hurdles champion, represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He was outstanding from he was a schoolboy at in Trinidad and Tobago. I know he did a double thing with schools. I know he ended up at Queens Royal College, but he had been to another school before. And I remember talking to him when I'd gone to Queens Royal College to do some features on some schoolboy programs that we were doing at Sports Max at the time. And he's a special one and good to see him giving back to the sport. He was manager of the Cariftagame's team in Grenada with TNT a couple of weeks ago. And he really is passionate about developing sport in his country. Very much the case. He's involved in administration. He's involved in coaching and JQ Gordon is just a young man who wants the very best for his country, who wants the very best for the athletes in his country and really delighted to have him on the team this time around. You know, I spoke to JQ for the first time Lance. It was around 2010. Was it 2009, 2010 or a long time ago? I was working at a radio station and I had a show called Young Sport. And JQ Gordon was one of the guests on that show. It was a terrific interview. I hope I can find it one day. But it's, we're coming from some ways back. He would have been a teenager then, right? So would I. Anyhow, now we're switching to swimming. Let's introduce Janelle Atkinson, who will be covering her fourth consecutive Olympic games and third as part of the Sports Max roster. Sports fans, guess who? Janelle Atkinson here, Jamaica's first female Olympic swimming finalist. I'm so excited to be back, back, back again for the third time with Sports Max for the Olympic team coverage. I'm so looking forward to it. Team Caribbean, it's time to go. Team Caribbean, it is, Lance. Yeah, and you know what? We just referenced the fact that 2000 Olympics was the first time that the Caribbean had live Caribbean-specific coverage. And Janelle Atkinson was one of the stars of those games, represented Jamaica at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, 04 Games, of course, in Athens, the 2000 in Sydney. First Jamaican female to reach an Olympic final in swimming, fourth in the 400-meter freestyle in Sydney. Double Commonwealth Games bronze medalist in 2002, triple Pan-American Games silver medalist in 1999. And I remember us interviewing Janelle Atkinson in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics when she finished fourth there, which for us as a Caribbean in a swimming event was a triumph in itself. I tell you a quick story. I was watching the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000. It was a Sunday morning, and she swam qualifying for the 400 freestyle. She finished third in her heat. And I remember running to my mom in the kitchen who was cooking at the time. And I said, mom, mom, mom, a Jamaican just came third in the pool. She wasn't interested to be quite honest. She was focused on dinner. But for me, even as a youngster, without even understanding the history at that time, just seeing a Jamaican finish third at the Olympic Games, and mind you, this was just a qualifying race. It made me really excited. And it's great to have Janelle back again. It's no flu clans that even though the last four Olympic Games, three of them broadcast by Sportsmax, won 2016 by others. And Janelle has been part of every single one of those teams. I think it says a lot about what she brings to the table. And it's great to have her again. Yeah, and the fact that she does coaching now also gives her another perspective in analyzing what happens in the pool because that's what she does, and she's good at it. Yeah, very much the case. How about then the very popular in-house analyst, Leighton Levy. He's not just track and field, you know. He can break down just about any discipline. I'm Leighton Levy, and I'm proud to announce today that I'll be a member of the panel for Sportsmax on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer. 2004 was when I had my first broadcast experience with the Olympic Games, and I've enjoyed every single Olympic experience since then. We're looking forward to bringing you the best of analysis as our athletes excel on the track in Paris. Looking forward to seeing you then on Sportsmax. Can't have a team without Leighton Levy, Lance Vertica? No, we can't. And he's training for the Olympics, you know. Two mornings ago, I was driving on Lindsey Crescent, and I saw him jogging, walking, half-jogging, you know, his style. And I was trying to get his attention, and he didn't see me. You can't call Leighton Levy too early because he is in the gym, or as you witnessed, on the road, having a jog, and he boasts about his muscles all the time. Muscles? Yes. So is it he that Diana Ross sang about? And she said she wanted muscles. Maybe Leighton can answer that. Here we go. Last, but certainly not least, one of the veterans of Sportsmax Olympic coverage returning for his third games after London 2012, Tokyo 2020, and now Paris 2024. We're talking about this man, Anil. The controversial one, his last name is Roberts, Lance Vertica. Yeah, this is a very special individual, Anil Roberts, former sports minister in Trinidad and Tobago, three-time Olympic coach. He coached George Bovelto, Olympic 200-meter, individual bronze in Athens 2004, a level five senior Ascot Olympic swimming coach and an opposition senator in Trinidad and Tobago at the moment. But I first became exposed to Anil while he was coaching Siobhan Cropper and Leah Martin Dale in the mid-1990s. And it was significant for us at the time because these were two Caribbean young ladies who were world-class. And they were being coached right here in the Caribbean, which up to that point, I had never heard of before. They went to world championships. Leah Martin Dale reached an Olympic final. I think she finished fifth for Barbados, coached by Anil Roberts. So his coaching expertise is colossal and that's just a part of the strengths that he brings to the table. And here's the thing, like we spoke about Leighton D'Eve, who can go across just about any sport. So can Anil Roberts's specialty is, of course, swimming, but he knows so much about sport. And we've learned that over the Olympic games that he's covered with Sportsmax and it is fantastic that he will be back with us. It looks like a pretty good cast, doesn't it, Lance? Oh, very, very impressive. Mm, Mariah Ramirez, what do you think? Yeah, I'm looking forward to see the team in action. I love the names that have been added to the cast. And of course, you know, as we get ready to build up for this big, big event, I'm hoping Ricardo that we get to hear a bit more from them and what they intend to bring to the team. So yeah, it's a date, Paris, 2024. We go to break and we'll come back. All right, beautiful about the Olympic Games. Every four years, athletes who have worked for a lifetime put their dreams on the line and in their glory we celebrate, but also their despair is our pain. Yes, we live vicariously through them and there is no stage where this is truer than the Olympic Games. Welcome back to the Sportsmax Zone. We are 100 days away from the start of Paris, 2024. Today, we are unveiling a few of the pieces that will make Sportsmax's coverage of the Games very special. Well, earlier, we introduced you to some of our analysts, but we're not stopping there. Here's Lance and Ricardo to tell you about two very key persons who will be involved come July 26th to August 11th. Ricardo? Yeah, Lance, you know, I like to call these the storytellers because I think it's so important, those wonderful features that you see throughout the course of any Sportsmax coverage of any event, you need individuals like that who can tell these stories in a very unique way. And so when you see them, sometimes they'll bring you to tears, sometimes it's all about laughter, but at the end of the day, there's a lot to get from them. Yeah, and we were very clinical in choosing our storytellers because they're really good at it, aren't they? Yeah, they're very much good. Let's get you the first one. He's a class act storyteller extraordinaire. They call him producer of the world's best, some of the world's best features, producer of the 2022 Choryphtha Games documentary. Here's Donald Oliver. Hello, Donald. How are you? Oh, sorry. Hi, I'm just preparing to go to Paris later this summer, just brushing up on my French. This is Donald Oliver, by the way. I'm going to be going to the Games of the 33rd Olympiad with a few of my friends as we bring some of the best stories and the features from our Caribbean athletes. So do join us, we're going to have a great time. Well, he's always one for the dramatics, Lance. Yeah, I think he has some acting skills somewhere deep down in there. I'm not sure, he still has a long life ahead of him, I think. So maybe he may go there at some point. Maybe he'll have a conversation with Chris Taylor and he'll show him the way. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. All right, this next person. She is a very special woman, a former Sportsmax Zone host and definitely no stranger to the Caribbean. Her name is Alex Jordan. She's with Mariah Amarack. Good afternoon, Alex. Welcome to the Sportsmax Zone. How are you? Fine, this is very strange. I can see Ricardo and I can hear, oh, there you are, nice to see you. Very good, how are you guys? Loved all those intros and totally agree with Lance that Donald should do some acting, definitely. All right, so Alex, of course, we're doing really, really good here. We're excited to have you as a part of our team and it's because you're so special. So talk to me about what you're bringing for us this Paris 2024. You're heading with the team, right? Across the Paris. I am, maybe, maybe, Madame. We're going to Paris 2024 and what a privilege to be with Sportsmax again to cover this 33rd Olympia. 33 is also my lucky number, so there's a lot going on here. I loved what Ricardo said about storytelling. I feel it is one of my core skills and I've always been searching for what is my core skill. I love to tell stories and I was very privileged to be part of the very small team that actually went to Japan at the last Olympics, what we're now calling the Pandemic Olympics. And of course, I mean, we did some, as a team, some extraordinary work, if we may say so ourselves. I thought we told some great stories, but there was this shroud of grief hanging over those Olympics because of course the world was still in the pandemic and in lockdown and we were separated. So it makes me doubly excited for myself, for all the viewers, sports fans, and of course the athletes who'll be competing about these Olympics. You will be unsurprised to hear that the motto this year is Games-Wide Open, right, in French that's because in fact, everything was so close. So to have another opportunity to cover another Olympics, Mariah, is a real privilege. And I thank Sportsmax for having me as part of the team. And just listening to you, Alex, I can understand why, of course, you were chosen. You can speak the language. We're seeing your storytelling skills coming to light and you're just a whole bubbly person. So what are some of the things you're hoping to achieve when you head across to Paris and what are you bringing for us? Well, we've got to have new angles, don't we? You know, when we were in Japan, this such an ancient, unrevered culture, isn't it? It was beautiful that we compared and contrasted all of the cultures, we do much the same. But Paris, you know, mainland Europe, that's a totally different story. So, I mean, who knows what will happen? I do think and I rely a lot on my spontaneity. I prepare, I'm very prepared, but then we've got to free up the energy because that's how creativity flows. I am particularly excited about working with Donald Oliver. We haven't really done a lot of work together. They haven't crossed paths. He doesn't do golf. I don't do football, you know, we kind of missed each other. So we're going to get there in Paris together. And I have to tell Donald, Donald, this is a message to you directly. We have got to absolutely nail this assignment for many reasons. An important reason is that the next Olympics in 2028 in LA, I would like to be back invited because cricket and my sport, squash, the sport for which I competed for Barbados, our first time entrance in the Olympics in 2028. So let's get it right, Donald Oliver. Yeah, it's so, so important. And Alex, you know, before you leave us, one of the things I want to say is it's so important that our Caribbean people will be telling the stories. Lance and Ricardo spoke about it at the top of the show. For quite some time, our stories were told by people that never even lived or experienced who we are as a people. So I'm looking forward because our cast includes, you know, people from Barbados, Jamaicans, Trinnies. It's just a wide cast. And of course, really, really looking forward to see what you and the entire team do. I want to thank you so much. It's too bad we didn't get to talk for as long as I would like. Bye. I guess. Bye. Can I say one more thing? Yeah, sure. Yes, Mariah, absolutely. I think you make a great point there. And I don't even think you're old enough to remember all of those Olympics and on those sort of big tournaments where, you know, the big American networks entirely ignored us and did tell our stories at all. So this is why Sportsmax as a station is so special. Right? Because it's us telling our stories. And of course, our competing at the highest level. Yeah, for sure. Well, Alex, take care. I know we're going to be in touch again as we continue to build up to the Olympics. But now it's time for us to pass over to Ricardo and Lance. Yeah, thank you very much. A book of stories there, Lance. And Alex Jordan is a special personality, isn't she? Oh, she is very, very special. There's no one like her in the world, I'm sure. Very much the case. Looking forward to what she has to deliver, Lance. Yeah, a major part of making any event happen is our sponsors. We are pleased to announce partnerships with Suzuki. Yes, Suzuki, we have joined the family and BCIC ensuring your motor, home, business and more dependable and affordable insurance. Here at BCIC, we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Sportsmax as the general insurance sponsor for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. I mean, it's the Olympics. So exciting. And we are one of the title sponsors. We are happy to join forces with Sportsmax who we know will provide exceptional coverage of the Games. We can't wait to see you there. Yeah, we can't do anything without the sponsors. Lance is rejoined on set by Mariah Amarek and it's important to have them. And I'm sure that we'll be having even more sponsors as we get closer to the Olympic Games. Yeah, that's for sure. And it was really nice listening to Mariah talk to Alex just a couple of moments ago. And I'm not sure if Mariah told you that at a carnival event a couple of weeks ago, she met up with Alex and Alexis, two former female hosts on the Sportsmax zone. I thought that was some meeting. It was so good. I guess we have a lot of similarities, all three of us. We love carnival, we love parties. We just love having a good time and it was good to link up with them. I think it's so important, you know, that for me as the younger of the two of them, well, all three of us, it's so good that I get to connect with them. I get to hear their stories. I get to see what it was like when they were here on the team before me. What I didn't get to do though is, and I was trying my very best, was to bring them both on set for all of us to be on the show and for us to give both of you a break. But that didn't happen. I'm hoping the next time they come to Jamaica, you know, we connect because I did exchange numbers with Alexis. I always speak to Alex from time to time and then you both get a day off. We'll run the show. Well, I don't mind having a day off or two. That is very much the case. But yeah, it promises to be really great. London 2012, Tokyo 2020 and now Paris 2024, Sportsmax has you covered. Thank you so much for the confidence that you've shown in us and we promise once again to keep the Olympic flame burning with great coverage across the Caribbean. We also have some exciting offerings during the build-up, including a weekly Olympic show. Lebaton, yes, the baton will be carried in fine style starting Wednesday, May 1. Also coming up right after the Sportsmax zone and Olympic special, you definitely won't want to miss that. Let's take a break. More on the Sportsmax zone after this.