By Ronak Patel
At an age where most sprinters are winding down their careers, Manhattan alum Aliann Pompey '99, 32, is running the best she has in her career.
The accolades roll off the list for Pompey. She was named 2009 Co-Sprinter of the Year in South America - Pompey was born in Guyana; she was inducted into the Jaspers' Hall of Fame late last year, becoming one of the younger entries in Jaspers history; and finished fifth in the 400 meters at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar with a time of 52.75 seconds.
"It's huge for me and something I worked hard for a really long time," said Pompey. "I had never gotten this far, I've never made the finals in the World Championships before, so that in itself was huge for me and to finish 5th overall at the end of the competition was icing on the cake for me.
"Going into it, I was in a good position to do well because I had the 9th or 10th fastest time going into the competition and I know I was in good shape. I came off my lifetime best in the 400 meters two weeks before. When it happened, I was excited for myself and I was excited for coach (Joe) Ryan because since I was in college, he's been my coach. He's seen me grow from that 17-year old kid that walked into Manhattan College to now doing this; it hasn't been easy."
Ryan, who still coaches at Manhattan, credits her longevity to her work ethic, which resonates in her everyday life. Pompey currently trains and works in New York City.
"There are athletes training 24 hours a day who haven't accomplished what Aliann has done," said Ryan. "To be able to do this in a sport where she's competing against sprinters in their 20's who train year-round, every day without the worries of working full-time like Aliann has to, it's amazing to see what she's accomplished.
"And to do it in New York City while working, keeping up with the pace New Yorkers have, it's remarkable. It's the old-fashioned model I grew up with as a runner, simply working hard, taking care of your body and she does a great job of taking care of her body. You won't see once shred of fat on her body."
For Pompey, who's competed in three Olympics - the 2008 Beijing Games, 2004 Athens and 2000 Sydney - it was flattering to be inducted into the Jaspers Hall of Fame at such a young age.
"I'm the first person to be inducted to still be actively competing in the sport," said Pompey with a laugh. "It was like spring break for me and I took time to reflect what I accomplished so far and share it with a lot of people from my parents to my siblings to my coach and friends who I had to cancel movie dates with because I had to train.
"I was really happy and it was like spring break for my career. It makes me feel good and when I was competing at Manhattan, it never crossed my mind that this will happen. I like to do things in segments and it was always I accomplished this goal; then it will be the next one to tackle. At the end of it all, for other people to acknowledge what I've done, it's humbling and quite an honor. I was shocked it came that early. It was very touching to be with a prestigious hall of fame group at my age."
RUNNING FREE
Pompey doesn't think of her career - from the time she started running at age 16 - or life - born in Guyana and coming to the United States - as one long journey, but instead broken up into fragments, carved piece by piece of moments that has encompassed her journey to where she is now.
"I think every once in a while I will think on specific things but I guess that is something I will do when I'm done running," said Pompey. "I do come from a very close knit family and talk to my siblings and parents quite often. Most of them are here in the United States and it's not really thought of as one journey but it's broken up to many different fragments.
"I complete this segment and reflect and determine if it's successful or not and then I decide where I'm going to go from here. So my life is broken into many different parts: A kid growing up in Guyana and coming over here and making that transition to being an athlete and trying to have a career outside of athletics; it much more difficult to put into words."
At this current segment of her career, Pompey's mentality towards sprinting has changed. She knows now when to pull back and forge ahead. And additionally, with sponsorships, according to her, it was undue pressure for her at times to compete for simply the love of sprinting. Now, she's at ease with her training and competition.
"When I was younger, I was able to train hard and do it nonstop," said Pompey. "Now, there are no alternatives, I have to take care of my body and a lot of things I took granted in my early to mid 20s I can't anymore. My body talks to me more now than it ever did. I can see when I need to take a step back and regroup.
"There's no pressure for me now. There's no threat I'm going to lose my sponsorship and no threat if I don't perform well, I won't have the ability to put food on the table. There's so much that has been removed now, including the mental restraints. But at the same time, I would love to be sponsored and competition expenses to be taken care of but this is me, this is my expectation and I'm not going to get myself into a situation where 'I have to do this, I have to do this' and that tends take away for the fun for it. At this age, I can't go back to track being my job. I love it too much at this stage for it to be a pressure-consuming thing. I feel like I can still get my personal best time and have the mentality to be fun. This is how I felt when I first started running."
This year, Pompey is planning on circling the globe on her budget to compete Senegal in late April and Puerto Rico, Brazil, India and Guadalupe in the coming months.
GIVING BACK
Pompey, who finished her undergraduate work in 1999 and Master's in 2003, began working the typical 9-5 job that most people do post-college, but Pompey wanted more, a higher calling. The oldest child out of seven siblings to Leon Eric and Deborah, Aliann always felt comfortable being the role model for her younger siblings.
"It came natural to me," said Pompey of becoming a role model. "It was expected of me and I grew into it. Obviously, with the younger siblings, I was an example to them and I was given a lot of opportunities coming out of Guyana, getting a scholarship and no matter what steps I took, there was always someone to help me and guide me. It's only natural for me to do that for someone else."
Thus, Pompey began working for PowerPlay, an organization that helps kids achieve a higher self-esteem and confidence in sports.
"I wanted a job where I could be in that role-model situation," said Pompey. "PowerPlay's program is geared for young women in the middle school and high school aged range. That was more in line of what I wanted to do and be able to be a role model and show them what they can be.
"Being in sports helped with my self-esteem and how I saw myself and related to other people. So I wanted them to look at sports than more than going out there and playing something or winning. For me, it goes beyond that and I'm really happy to do that with PowerPlay."
Last year, she became the assistant director with the Armory Foundation, a New York City not-for-profit and home to a track and field center that assists youths by promoting education and fitness through many different programs.
"They have a program called Armory Prep, the runners that are in New York City take part of the college prep program," said Pompey. "They have ACT classes available to them, scholarship help available to them - either athletically or academically and it's geared for runners in New York to get into college."
While her accomplishments on the track are something to take note of, Ryan believes Pompey the person is an prime example of what Manhattan College athletes should strive to be.
"Aliann is a tremendous example and role model of what the Manhattan College athlete is," said Ryan. "She's carried the Jasper flag for the world at the Olympics and her work ethic, how she's gotten to this point with sprinting and most importantly, in life, is a testament to her character. Even better than the accolades she's earned, she's a tremendous person and very humble."
