The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Olympic Committee is expected to entertain more than 400 people in the Imperial Ballroom at Atlantis Paradise Island today as they honour Sir Durward ‘Sea Wolf’ Knowles and the late Cecil Cooke 50 years after they won their country’s historic first Olympic gold medal.

BOC president Wellington Miller said they have joined forces with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture as they host this “Golden Anniversary” celebration for the Bahamas, which will finally recognise Knowles and Cooke for their feat at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Under the patronage of Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, the gala luncheon scheduled to begin at noon will attract three international personalities in Richard Peterkin, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative from St Lucia, Steve Stoute, the chairman of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) from Barbados, and Wayne Russell, treasurer of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

During the luncheon, which is also expected to be attended by Prime Minister Perry Christie, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Dr Daniel Johnson and other government officials, the 96-year-old Knowles and Cooke, who passed away on May 1, 1983, will be presented with three awards.

Cooke’s daughter, Sandra, is expected to receive the honours on his behalf. The first award will be the IOC Cup, which will be presented by Peterkin. According to Miller, the IOC wants to include the photo of the presentation in their IOC newsletter, which will be distributed to their 204-country membership around the world, providing some additional recognition for the Bahamas.

The other international award is the PASO Sports Merit award, which will be presented by Dame Marguerite, and the other will be a national award, the BOC president award that will be presented by the Prime Minister on behalf of the BOC and the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

“This is a great thing for the Bahamas and both the Bahamas Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture,” Miller said. “We have joined forces as the two highest ranking sporting bodies in the country and I’m sure that the other sporting bodies will come out and show their support for such an historic event.”

With the BOC and the Ministry collaborating on the event, Miller said it only shows that in strength and unity, the Bahamas can only continue to grow by leaps and bounds in its effort to continue to promote the country through its many sporting activities.

“We are going to make sports what it ought to be,” Miller said. “Through sports, you can make a lot of friends and you can travel throughout the world. So I think we are on the right track in promoting sports in this country. This is a good thing for us as a country.”

While the Bahamas is remembering its first gold medallists from the 1964 Olympics, Miller said Japan is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of their hosting of the Games and the two countries have exchanged gifts, photographs and letters to coincide with their activities.