Michael Parris bust unveiled in honour of Guyana’s only Olympic medallist 

May 19, 2023 Sports

Kaieteur Sports – The National Olympians Association of Guyana (NOAG) yesterday unveiled a bust of Olympic medallist Michael Parris, crafted by Keith Agard, in honour of his achievements at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Deserving! Michael Parris standing next to his bust which was unveiled on May 18.

Parris won the bronze medal in boxing, becoming the only pugilist from the English-speaking Caribbean to achieve this feat.

Michael Parris sharing the historic moment with his family

The 65-year-old Parris was accompanied by his family and sports officials from the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Government of Guyana.

Director of Sports and president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle, GOA president Godfrey Munroe and Parris himself delivered speeches during the event.

Ninvalle highlighted that Parris’ achievement 43 years ago was a rare one, particularly for boxing in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, Parris spoke about the hard work he put in to achieve success and encouraged young boxers to follow in his footsteps.

The event was organized by the NOAG which was founded in 2021 by 1956 Olympian (Judo) Jeffery Sankies, who is now deceased.

On his way to winning Guyana’s only Olympic medal to-date, Parris defeated Nureni Gbadamosi (Nigeria), Fayez Zaghloul (Syria), and Daniel Zaragoza (Mexico).

However, in the bout for a chance to contest for the gold medal, Parris was defeated by Cuba’s Juan Hernandez.

• Godfrey Munroe, Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), New GOA president, Olympic medallist Michael Parris, Steve Ninvalle