LOCAL ATHLETICS is mourning the passing of one of its most enduring and revered veteran coaches Anthony “Tony” Lovell.
Lovell died earlier today at the age of 64 after dealing with heart complications for a couple years.
A former national team and National Sports Council coach, Lovell spent more than four decades in track and field, guiding over 100 junior athletes to scholarships and educational opportunities as the founder of historic club Freedom Striders.
“These things are always hard and difficult but it’s definitely sad for Barbados track and field,” lamented chairman of the National Sports Council Seibert Straughan.
“We have lost one of our truly great veterans in track and field.”
“He got a lot of young people scholarships, but not just that, he made great contribution to the National Sports Council and had an even greater impact in terms of the development of local track and field.”
Originally involved in athletics purely by accident, Lovell started out as a noteworthy sprinter under the legendary Jim Wedderburn before becoming an outstanding long jumper in the mid to late ’60s.
But it was his role in founding Freedom Striders and coaching several of the country’s finest athletes that Lovell made his name in local track and field.
“He truly had foresight,” said wife Ainsley Lovell.
“His club is a tremendous success because if you look at it Freedom Striders is where all the clubs came from.”
“He also helped so many kids and he really loved athletics to his core.”
Most recently, Lovell was working with Barbados’ senior athletes, including Ainsley, by lending his coaching prowess to help train the team that competes at the Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah.
The second of seven children, Lovell attended St Giles Girls’ School, Erdiston Model School (now Erdiston Primary) as well as St Giles Boys’ School, before going to Combermere for a year.
Lovell owned an honours degree in Education from Jackson State University. (JM)
