7 News Belize

Jawmaine, A Unique Talent
posted (August 11, 2014)
Ernest Meighan was one of those very few national figures who went by just one name - just say "Jawmeighan" and everybody would know exactly who you were talking about. More than that, you'd know what to expect because he came to prominence in a time when foreign cyclists dominated Cross Country: and Jawmeighan was one of the few Belizeans who could always hold his own against the foreign riders. So, he was, in effect, our Belizean manhood out there on the Western Highway - defending

Of course, he didn't just ride the cross, country, he rode all races, and was still competitive at the time of his murder. But what made him so good? We asked some of his peers today:..

Hon. Santiago Castillo Jr. - Friend of the Deceased
"Jawmeighan is one of the few talents in Belize; probably Jawmeighan and Marlon Castillo had they been drafted by a professional team when they were 18 years old they could have both made it to the Tour de France. I am so serious about that statement."

Friend
"I've been around cycling as a cyclist, as a coach and a cycling enthusiast, a commentator. Jawmeighan is in my view the best cyclist I have ever seen in my particular year."

Hon. Santiago Castillo Jr. - Friend of the Deceased
"He has a whole bunch of nicknames that probably the public doesn't even know about. First of all they use to call him "baawee" where did that come from? That came from the ambulance. Anytime you hear the ambulance "wee baawee" he is behind the ambulance because no one else was around. So they gave him that name "baawee." They use to call him "cleks cleks" because when he change the gear you hear "clek" - Jawmeighan gone. By the time you look around Jawmeighan is gone."

"They called him the "golden bwoy." They called him "bridget," "soloman." The amount of nicknames he had was unbelievable."

Friend
"From Jawmeighan was a kid, he came by the bike shop and he had a little small BMX that he use to ride up and down and he eventually got a used racing bike and I saw this kid keeping up with senior riders and I said this guy had talent, so he said Mr. Ordonez, I really want to ride but I don't have a good bike. I said don't worry, with your talent you will get a sponsor soon and he had his neighbor Mr. Mera Castillo, he called me and he said I have a kid by the name of Jawmeighan and he said that he wants to ride, he said should I invest in him and I said go all out. That kid will be a champion someday."

Hon. Santiago Castillo Jr. - Friend of the Deceased
"That guy was unbelievably talented and on top of that he was not conceited, he was humble. He was a guy that was willing to impart his knowledge."

Friend
"He had too much talent. It's sad that we couldn't get him out the country at the time. I haven't seen talent in any other Belizean cyclist as I've seen in Jawmeighan being in Criterium, in hill climbing, time trial - he was the only all around cyclist that I saw in that discipline being that he could have pace, he could have chase, he could have sprint. He was the fastest man on two wheels in Belize. So Jawmeighan is a cyclist in Belize. You cannot compare him to no one else."

Hon. Santiago Castillo Jr. - Friend of the Deceased
"He won the two cross countries; 1997 which I will give due respect for. He won that and at that time he was riding for BELCHI, it was right after that I drafted him. In 2001 he won under the Santino's banner when the very powerful Jose Robles, Jawmeighan and Andrew Smiling got away around Cheers and ran all the way to Belize just the three of them and Jawmeighan cross the line first and the first words out of his mouth, in fact, the only two times I've cried for Jawmeighan was when he dies yesterday and when he cross the line in 2001 he hollered 'weh mi boss deh, weh mi chief deh?' and he went straight to me and he hug me up and said 'dis da fi yuh' and tears just came out of my eyes. He was unparalleled when it came to the cycling world and every single cyclist out there knows it."

Tomorrow, we'll have more on Jawmeighan's record and legacy. His funeral will be this Friday at 2:00pm at the Central Assembly of God followed by his interment at his father's grave at the Lord Ridge Cemetery.

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