Chelsea Edghill on being inspired and inspiring the future
Edghill – full name Chelsea Aretha Renee Edghill, named after former U.S. First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, soul music star Aretha Franklin, and a family friend – revels in her position as a role model, just as she was inspired by a previous Guyanese female Olympian.
“My role model is, and it still is, Aliann Pompey, who inspired me to want to go to the Olympics,” Edghill professed. “I saw her competing at one of her Olympics (Pompey was a four-time Olympian from 2000 to 2012 in track and field) and said to myself that I want to be just like her.”
Pompey, a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist whose best Olympic finish was being ranked 11th overall in the women’s 400m at Beijing 2008, remains one of Guyana’s most successful athletes ever.
“I met her, I think, at the Commonwealth Games a few years ago. She was just really nice and encouraging. Every time we meet, it’s just a very inspiring conversation, to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep trying to improve.”
That’s something she has learned from Pompey, too, as she hopes future Guyanese sports stars follow in her footsteps.
“There’s the side of being a role model. You kind of take those things into consideration with anything that you do, especially being a pioneer. [I enjoy] the ability to inspire the younger generation, especially young women, and to let them know that you can do sports and you can do whatever it is that you set your mind to.
“Once you believe and work hard, it’s possible.”
