Belize’s Two-Time Olympian: Shaun Gill’s Legendary Run

In the last decade, the name Shaun Gill has become one that is well-known to Belizeans for his accomplishments in track and field. For nearly twenty years, the thirty-one-year-old athlete worked his way up to becoming one of Belize’s biggest names in running, going on to represent the country twice at the Olympics. Since his early days, Gill has been an advocate for Belizean youths pursuing their dreams. Recently, Gill spoke out about the challenges athletes face in Belize, specifically when it comes to funding for facilities, equipment and transportation. Upon returning home from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gill announced his retirement, choosing instead to pursue a career in his other passion; engineering. In tonight’s edition of Belize on Reel, News Five’s Britney Gordon highlights some of the pivotal moments of Gill’s career and spoke with some of the coaches that aided Gill along the journey.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Imagine having the weight of the country on your back. Thousands of Belizeans depending on you to make your country shine. For Shaun Gill, he didn’t have to imagine. That was his reality. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Gill gained international recognition for the pride, passion and patriotism he displayed while waving the Belizean standard as the country’s lone Olympian. But Shaun Gill has been a respected name in track and field for the country for about twenty years, wracking up medals in the Commonwealth Games and the Central American Games. He made his Olympic debut in 2022 in Tokyo.

 

Shaun Gill, Belizean Olympic Athlete (File: July 6th, 2021)

“It is heart-warming, because it is a dream. As athletes this is what we dream about. The Olympics is the biggest stage when it comes to all the sports, all the disciplines in the world. You know, swimming, track, canoeing, any sport you can think about right. And, this is really the highest stage you can be. And, as a kid growing up this was always the dream. Sometimes it felt like it never would have happened, but I just sticked to the sport. I’ve been in the sports ten fifteen years now and I guess the hard work the pay off now.”

 

Belize is one of many countries highly underrepresented at the Olympics. To increase diversity, the International Olympic Committee allows countries to send delegates who did not initially qualify to compete in select events. These are known as universality places. In 2021, Gill was selected as one of the athletes to receive a universality place. Gill’s Olympic career did not end there. In 2023, he received an Olympic scholarship which allowed him to finance his training and improve his skills in the hopes of competing at the 2024 Olympic Games. Coach Ryan Dall, who trained with him at Texas A & M University in Kingsville, says that Gill is a natural role model and leader to younger athletes.

 

Ryan Dall, Coach, Texas A & M University

“It was great working with Shaun. Very hard worker, a very coachable athlete. He always tried to listen to the coaches and do the things that we asked him to do. He was a very good leader for our team, especially as he got older. A lot of the younger athletes really looked up to him and went to him for advice and guidance and things not just about track, but just about life in general. When you have someone who’s been at the Olympics and thing and large international meets. The other athletes really respect that and want to learn from him and learn of his experiences as well. So it was great having him here. We’re definitely going to miss him.”

 

Being able to represent Belize at the Olympics was an exciting moment in Gill’s career but according to Dall, he celebrated his wins no matter how big or small.

 

Ryan Dall

“Him competing at two Olympics was certainly memorable. We got to see him on TV and everything like that. So it was very exciting to be able to do that. And then Shaun, there were several races. I remember one here at home that he ran. He had been, I think, stagnant in his progression for a little while. And then he ran. We had a home game, I think it was, and he ran a new personal best, and he was real excited about that. And obviously we were all excited for him.”

 

One of the challenges Gill faced in his career was the lack of resources in Belize. Sports continue to be severely underfunded, and the facilities remain in disrepair.

 

Shaun Gill (File: August 15^th, 2024)

“It takes a lot. It’s going to take heavy investment from the sporting bodies here in Belize. Obviously, heavy investment from the government. We do need the fan support from our Belizeans.  And aside from that, especially with track and field, we don’t necessarily have the facilities. So most people, not even just the Caribbean countries, but most people leave their country to find better environments for training. I mean, even some of the great world class athletes, they leave their country and go to Jamaica because they know that Jamaica is the Mecca for sprinting. So we kind of have to look at it and start doing the same.”

 

Still, Gill pushed on due to his love for the sport. The reality of the of the matter is that being a full-time athlete is difficult to accomplish in Belize, many resort to participating in sports as a hobby. Frederick Evans, a Belizean coach, has been training athletes since the 1960’s. He says that the terrible condition of the facilities is a contributing factor as to why track and field athletes do not thrive in Belize.

 

Frederick Evans, Belizean Coach

“Towards the end, Shaun came to Belize. He tried to train here, but this track is just about done. As soon as he did a little bit of running here, he started to have pain because the track is unresponsive. It’s like hard instead of give and take.  So he had to limit whatever little bit he could do here. And he was supposed to go back to Houston, to Texas, to train with his coach. But there was, and I really don’t know what all this was about, but there was some kind of financial problem, which made him unable to go ahead and do that. And so, over a period of years, he had been one of our top athletes, and he really put in his time and effort. Unfortunately, circumstances over the last couple of years were a little bit against his attaining his real potential.”

 

Evans has trained with hundreds of athletes over his sixty-year career, and he remembers Gill as a zealous athlete.

 

Frederick Evans

“Shaun was dedicated and committed. Sprinters need to be aggressive to be successful, and he had that aggressive nature about him which in some cases led some people to not like him too much, but you’re not in this to make friends nor to make enemies as the case may be.  He was very talented and I personally believe that he did not get to reach his true potential.”

 

While his professional career in track and field might be over, the love he embodies for his country continues to thrive. No matter what his next pursuit may be, Shaun will have the support of his country right there with him.

 

Shaun Gill

“Just want to say thank you for all the support around the globe, especially Belizeans at home and abroad. Everybody doesn’t know, but this was my last race. I’m retiring. This is the official announcement.  Thank you all.  It’s been about eighteen years, this was the last one and it’s a sad moment for me. I didn’t compete. I didn’t get, I didn’t get the performance I expected, but this was the last one. So thanks to everyone. This is my farewell tour. Most of my highlights came at the central American championships where we compete in the region. Back home at our nationals, I went to Texas A & M university, Kingsville for about four years at the college of engineering, those are the highlights of my career, and I’m very grateful.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.