By FRED STURRUP, frederick@nasguard.com, frobertsturrup@gmail.com

When Taureano Johnson recently qualified in Guatemala to compete at the Beijing Olympics this coming August, he enhanced his leadership role on the local amateur scene and re-established himself as one of the region's best at 69 kilograms. In climbing through the early rounds to the final where he was satisfied to take home the silver medal and an Olympic berth, Johnson defeated two of the more prominent boxers in the entire western world. Pedro Lima of Brazil and Diego Chavez of Argentina, the respective gold and bronze medal winners at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, are noted rivals of the veteran Amateur Boxing Federation of The Bahamas' standout, but, the Bahamian was about making a statement this time around.

At 24, it's unlikely he will continue as an amateur for four more years until the London Olympics, so it had to be now, and, if he had to walk through Lima and Chavez to do so, that's what he intended to do. That's what he did.

"What is so inspiring about his performance in Guatemala is the fact that just a month earlier during the first Olympic Trials in Trinidad, he had been beaten by Lima. He came back and left no doubt that he was going to Beijing. We in the federation like the fact he is leading the way by example. He showed the other boxers that qualifying for the Olympics is achievable. They just have to have the desire and be dedicated like Taureano and they can do it also. I actually feel the trend has been set. My strong feeling is that there will be at a least one representative for The Bahamas in London as well," said ABFB President Wellington Miller on Monday.

Miller is in high spirits these days and rightly so.

The victory by Johnson has placed the boxing federation in the forefront of sports disciplines in the country. Athletes from just athletics, boxing, swimming and tennis have qualified for Beijing. No other federation was able to get over the hump. Some are not even close to the point whereby any of their athletes stand a chance of qualifying at the moment for the biggest sports stage in the world.

So, kudos go out to Miller and his group. When the doubling of the grants from the government are official, the boxing federation should be among the top sports bodies that will receive $80,000 per year. There is another factor that has not gotten much attention.

Just three countries from the Caribbean were able to produce boxers to qualify for Beijing. The others are Cuba and the United States Virgin Islands.

Cuba, pound for pound, is the mightiest boxing nation in the world and has been one of the great countries since the days of Felix Savon and Tefilio Stevenson. Cuba has qualified 11 boxers for Beijing and will lead the way for the Caribbean once again. The Cuban boxers collectively are a constant at the Olympics and this year runs true to form for them.

The USVI is greatly assisted by being a part of the United States. That group of islands qualified two boxers.

So really, only one independent English-speaking nation will be represented at the Beijing Olympics in boxing. Unfortunately, here in The Bahamas a good many high level accomplishments are not properly acknowledged. This column today is for the purpose of saluting Johnson and the ABFB, but also to emphasize the uniqueness of the feat. Just for a moment, I wish readers and others to consider that large nations like Pakistan and others with millions numbering their populations like Argentina, qualified just one boxer each, but, this little nation made the cut.

It's a noteworthy achievement that needs to be appropriately recognized.

In fact, while we are a nation of people who by and large are satisfied with medals only, around the world, people understand how very special it is just to qualify for the Olympics. There is a standard that must be met in all disciplines now. The track and field athletes, the swimmers and the tennis players, like Taureano Johnson have to be up to a standard to make the trip to Beijing. Just qualifying is quite an accomplishment indeed. This nation, with the government of the day setting the prime example, is challenged to start giving full credit when it is due.

So, to all those Bahamian athletes who have qualified for Beijing, with Johnson being the last, you are saluted.