One of Jamaica's premier fitness and wellness facilities, Gymkhana, extended lifetime memberships to 18 of Jamaica's top athletes, including Shelly-Ann Fraser, Melaine Walker, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Asafa Powell, Shericka Williams and Sherone Simpson, at a function at its Old Hope Road head office on Wednesday.

Gymkhana, a member company of the Kenny Benjamin-led Guardsman Group, currently has two state-of-the-art gyms, one located in Montego Bay and the other at the Hilton hotel in New Kingston.

While making the presentation, Gymkhana's managing director and group director for advertising and public relations, Sheila Benjamin McNeill, pointed out that her company was focused on working closely with the nation's sportsmen and women.

Responsibility to help sportsmen

"From the very beginning, we recognised that we had a responsibility to support and work closely with our sportsmen and women," said Benjamin McNeill.

"In recognition of the tremendous contribution that you have made to Jamaica, and in recognition of the fact that we believe that fitness is a way of life, we feel honoured to present you with these lifetime awards," she said.

Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, applauded the Gymkhana presentation and urged more companies to support local sporting personalities.

"This is an important move towards the development of the athletes and this a great way to recognise and reward their efforts," said Grange. "I want to take this opportunity to encourage other corporate entities to extend this kind of accommodation to our athletes who excel not only for themselves, but also for their country."

Other athletes

Other athletes set to benefit through gym membership are Kaliese Spencer, Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Marvin Anderson, Xavier Brown, Sheree Francis, Germain Gonzales, André Wellington, Mickey Ruben, Yohan Blake and Herbert McGregor.

Commonwealth Games champion and former world 100m record holder, Asafa Powell, who is currently enjoying an extended holiday, was happy with the presentation and emphasised that it would play a huge role in the athletes' physical conditioning, even after they had decided to hang up their spikes.

Powell said: "This is really a major step as the gym is really important to our development, and even after track and field, we will really need to stay fit. I'm really looking forward to it."

- André Lowe