Olympic Gold medalist and Georgetown native Anthuan Maybank will be back in his hometown this weekend for the third annual Anthuan Maybank Day celebration.
Hosted by Georgetown County Parks and Recreation, the event takes place at the Anthuan Maybank Track Field at Beck Recreation Center. The field was dedicated in Maybank’s honor in 2022. As part of the celebration, Maybank was guest of honor at a number of events and participated in programs with local youth, talking to them about hard work and success. Thus an annual tradition was born.
Anthuan Maybank Day festivities will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, with a motivational program for kids and teens. Maybank will talk with young people about discipline, goals and making smart choices. A family relay race will follow, along with other activities. Maybank is also expected to have a rematch with the Parks and Recreation Department’s Mascot, Forest the Squirrel. Maybank has won his race with Forest every year, but he said Forest seemed a little younger and faster last year than the year prior.
There will also be food at the event. Food and all activities will be free.
In addition to being the guest of honor on Saturday, Maybank will be a special guest at this year’s Waccamaw Senior Sports Classic at Beck on Friday, April 19. The annual event has people ages 55 and up in Georgetown, Horry and Williamsburg counties compete in activities from races to hurling. Maybank was a guest speaker at last year’s Sports Classic and enjoyed it so much, he wanted to come back, he said.
“I love seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids, but there is something special about seeing the 55-90-year-old group competing,” he said.
He was inspired by the older individual in last year’s competition who were striving to stay active, he said.
Maybank now resides in Delaware and owns his own business, Champion BODY (which stands for Building Outgoing Dynamic Youthfulness). He works largely with college and professional athletes to help them achieve their goals. But he also devotes a lot of time working as a youth mentor.
Working with children, he said, is one of the most important and enjoyable things he gets to do.
“I love working with kids, because kids, they are extremely attentive. They sit there, they wait and they ask a lot of questions,” Maybank said. “As we get older, we feel like we can’t ask questions. But the kids, they ask the most pertinent questions that you don’t expect, and you really have to think of a response to give them. You can’t just say something, it has to make an impact, because they’re going to use that information later on themselves.”
A product of Georgetown County public schools, Maybank’s dedication to track and field elevated him to the world stage in 1995, when he won gold at the World University Games in the 200 meter dash and the 4x400 meter relay. A year later, he took home gold again at the 1996 Olympic Games in the 4x400 meter relay. He transitioned from professional sports to a career in public relations in Paris, yet still maintained ties to the Georgetown community.
When he returned to the U.S. in 2007, he continued a fast-paced multi-tasking career, while still consulting for the City of Georgetown to improve community health.
“One of the most important things for me right now is being able to talk to people – particularly young people – about my experiences from where I started to where I am and the choices that went into it,” Maybank said. “I want to share my experiences and help people make better choices.”