Don Wehby predicts excellent Olympics for Jamaica
GraceKennedy CEO Don Wehby is backing his brand ambassador or as he puts it member of the family, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, to have an excellent Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, later this summer.
Wehby, who was speaking on the final day of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships last Saturday, believes that the event will form the catalyst for success for Jamaica in 2021 as well as to revive the hopes of the nation that has been battling the mental fatigue of the pandemic.
“It is going to have a big positive impact on the nation. We have Boys’ and Girls’ Championships now, four records were broken, which is a big indication that our athletes are world-class,” he said.
Wehby is of the opinion that Jamaica as a country will do well at this year’s Olympic Games and that things have now been put in train with the successful staging of Champs.
“We are moving to the trials, then we are moving into the Olympics. So this is the build-up really to get us going as a nation in sports and I think we are going to have a good, good Olympics, and I am very confident about that,” he noted.
Speaking of the relationship with Fraser-Pryce, who has been associated with GraceKennedy for more that a decade, the former sprint hurdler said that it has evolved from brand ambassador to a family relationship.
“One of the things about Shelly-Ann, we have been sponsoring Shelly-Ann from 2008, Shelly-Ann is not an ambassador anymore of GraceKennedy, Shelly-Ann is family to us at GraceKennedy, that’s how we treat Shelly-Ann and that’s how she treats us,” Wehby explained.
“You would notice that every interview Shelly-Ann does after winning Olympics or World Championships she recognises her sponsors and GraceKennedy’s name is the first name she calls because when Shelly-Ann wasn’t doing well, GraceKennedy supported her 100 per cent and I think she recognises that. We didn’t support her because she was world champion,” he continued.
Fraser-Pryce took time-off to start her family and has since returned to the track with a vengeance. Having witnessed what she has done over the last few years, Wehby is backing the two-time 100m Olympic champion to return to that level, in Japan.
“She went through a period of getting back after having her child, and I said to her, ‘Shelly-Ann, you are going to be a world beater again,’ and she is such a determined young lady. It is unbelievable how she works hard so she can reach the top of her game and she is going to have an excellent Olympics,” he proclaimed.
The Tokyo Olympic Games is scheduled for July 23 to August 8 in Tokyo, Japan.