Team TTO | Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee | teamtto.org

Freud called it “the narcissism of small differences.”

The neutrals in the society with no vested interest in the day to day running of local sport hold the notion that local sport is careening from issue to issue and that sport administrators and leaders are reacting as situations come up.

The questions those with no knowledge of what goes on in the corridors of power ask are: “why is sport in T&T a hotbed of controversy and what’s next? “

The general public wants success on the global sport stage. People feel good about themselves and the country when the nation’s sportsmen and women and teams win medals and qualify for world championships. For many it is a worrying prospect that London 2012 will be squandered if history is allowed to repeat itself.

The general public and media have an expectation that we will build on the success at the London 2012 Olympics.

What the country is afraid of is that London 2012 will go the way of Germany 2006 - the high point of Germany remained just that.

The country expected local football to build on its historic appearance in the FIFA World Cup final.

The country’s self-image was wrapped up in the global recognition and spotlight as being the smallest nation to appear at FIFA’s global showpiece in Germany.

The public is easily frustrated by what they perceive as a lack of care for the positive image of sport among sport leaders and administrators.

In recent days I have been asked what are the priorities of those responsible for leading and directing sport in T&T?

Is it to make sports more appealing to the next generation? Is there a plan to engage young people in sports or is it that sport administrators and leaders are more interested in fighting with each other?

Those are valid and tough questions. We can either stick with the behaviour patterns and mistakes of the past or choose a future in which local sport is run along the principles of accountability, transparency and with integrity and dignity.

To earn and keep the trust of sportsmen and women, clubs, coaches, the public, media, parents and sponsors, to engender confidence and credibility sport leaders and administrators must take a long hard look at themselves and their modus operandi.

The country expects more from those who espouse the values of sport and sport participation and who lead and run sport

The people of T&T must have no regrets when they think about local sport.

How do we best balance the competing demands? It can only be done in an environment of mutual respect, trust, good will and good faith.

If sport is to give hope and purpose to the youth of the nation and be a bulwark against arbitrary oppression there ought to be the willingness and determination to work through differences of views and opinions.

There is a level of respect owed to each other whatever the particular circumstances may be.

Sport leaders must back away from artificially constructed barriers.

There is mounting evidence that mutual respect and trust is in short supply within local sport.

Rather than denying differences and fighting, it is worthwhile to understand each other's perspective. Learn to accept differences. Perfection is a myth.

The wider national community deserves to be relieved of their anxiety about local sport.

Are our words and actions helping sport in T&T?

The choice is a simple one.

Think strategically about what’s in the long-term best interest of sport

Happy Independence T&T. God bless our nation.

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August 27 - Brazil today suffered the embarrassment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) withdrawing the accreditation from the testing laboratory that is due to play a major role in next year's FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics for "repeated failures".

WADA announced the decision to strip the accreditation held by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) doping control laboratory, also known as LADETEC, less than ten months before the World Cup is due to open.

"The laboratory - which is currently suspended - will no longer be authorised to carry out the testing of doping control samples on behalf of WADA or any testing authority," WADA said.

WADA says the lab can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) before the revocation officially takes effect on September 25.

The laboratory has been suspended since August 8 from testing any anti-doping samples.

WADA has not said how the laboratory has failed in its work, beyond revealing that it is "due to non-compliance with the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL) and the related Technical Documents".

In 2012, the laboratory was suspended from conducting isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) testing on samples - the element of its operation which had caused it falsely to report that Brazilian beach volleyball player Pedro Solberg Salgado had tested positive for testosterone.

The only other WADA-accredited laboratory in South America at present is in Colombia, although there are also facilities in Cuba and Mexico.

Rio 2016 plan to urgently try to find a solution to help the laboratory regain its accreditation, which was withdrawn on the eve of the latest visit from the International Olympic Committee's Coordination Commission, chaired by Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel, which is due to start on Saturday (August 31).

"We are fully aware of the developments with regard to LABDOP/LADETEC," a spokesman told insidethegames.

"Anti-doping testing is an important element of the Rio 2016 Games and we will work closely with the UFRJ and LABDOP/LADETEC to help them to take the necessary measures to successfully reapply for WADA accreditation in advance of 2016."

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Carter 4th in World Juniors final

Dylan Carter again smashed his national age group record in the 100 metres backstroke event on Day Two of the fourth FINA World Junior Swimming Championships yesterday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

But his 55.36-second clocking was only good enough for fourth place. Still, it was more than an impressive for the swimmers, who has been consistent from the preliminaries to the final. He is the first T&T swimmer, though, to reach a World Junior Championships final, and the second fastest in the discipline. Only George Bovell (55.22) has gone faster.

Only a day earlier Carter had smashed the boys’ 15-17 national mark of 56.83 by over a second with his 55.64 preliminaries swim, before he went .01 seconds slower in the semis.

Yesterday, he forsook the 200m freestyle final after posting another national one minute, 49. 39 seconds for the fifth best showing in the preliminaries, to focus on his final and remaining races. Then he splashed his way to a fourth-place finish in the 100m back, just three hundredths of a second off the podium.

The race was won by Greek Apostolos Christou, who finished in a new Championship record 54.87 seconds, while Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys (55.03) was second, and Grigory Tarasevich (55.33) of Russia, third.

T&T’s other swimmers found the going tough yesterday, with Joshua Romany’s 1:55.19 clocking only good enough for 33rd overall in the boys’ 200 free. Tyla Martin also touched the wall in 2:24.15 for 32nd in the girls’ 200 butterfly.

Today Carter, Romany, Martin and Kristin Julien will also be in action on Day Three. Carter will swim the 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke events, while Romany will focus on the 50 free, and both Martin and Julien will splash off in 50 ‘fly action. Martin will also compete in the 200 back.

Carter yesterday described the Championships as an “amazing experience”, and said the decision to scratch the 200 free final was a “dilemma” for him.

“I was placed fifth in both races, so it was a dilemma for me. A decision had to be made between the two as the races were less than ten minutes apart; there was just no time for me to recuperate before the next race, ” he stated.

Carter added that he “just closed my eyes and picked one”.

“There were many technical reasons why that was the better choice; at the end of the day it worked out really well,” the US-based swimmer further explained. “I feel really great to face the next four days, got some renewed energy from the 100 back race tonight. I am taking it one day at a time now (and I’m) focused on the 50 back and the 50 freestyle in the morning.”

On the race, coach Franz Huggins was very pleased.

“The race strategy was well executed,” Huggins said. “We were just almost there, missing the medal by 0.03 seconds. Dylan is now the second fastest backstroke swimmer in our nation’s history. We move on from this and hope for even greater success tomorrow in the 50 metre freestyle and backstroke events.

“The performance in the 100 backstroke built his confidence going into the 50 metre equivalent in the morning. We are confident of making another final in this event and the 50 freestyle.

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As the arduous campaign trail undertaken by the three cities bidding to host the 2020 Olympics rolls ever forward, the briefest of visits was paid by them to Nanjing last week for the start of the Asian Youth Games.

Short it may have been, but with the contest hanging on a knife-edge, the memories locked within this ancient Chinese city could ultimately give a clue to Japan's undoing come the vote in Buenos Aires on September 7.

On 13 December, 1937, the city, known then as Nanking, was overpowered by Japanese forces as they surged across China.

Six weeks later they left behind them one of history's most devastating scenes: a pillage of rape, plunder and murder which caused up to 300,000 deaths, with most of these civilian bodies left to rot in the nearby Yangtze River.

In the Second World War's first example of killing as a form of gratification soldiers allegedly held competitions as to who could bring about the most deaths.

As I make the ten minute journey away from the bubble of the Games and the Olympic Movement in order to visit Nanjing's memorial I get a sobering dose of this so tragic reality.

Alongside the monuments, sculptures and exhibitions is a burial site which has been filled with hundreds of thousands of pebbles to signify those who fell here. As mournful Chinese music echoes around the square I get a sense both of the scale of the disaster and of the impact that it continues to hold on modern China.

Pebbles in Nanjing to mark the burial ground for 300000 Japanese civilliansA sea of pebbles at the Nanjing Massacre memorial to mark the burial ground for up to 300,000 victims

China and Japan officially "normalised" relations in 1972 and this may all seem to be ancient history. But the legacy of "the rape of Nanking" remains profound and still drives the relationship today. The tendency of Japanese nationalists, including the former Governor of Tokyo and architect of the failed 2016 Olympic bid, Shintaro Ishihara, to downplay the scale of the disaster has raised the tension levels. In 2007 the film The Truth about Nanjing even denied that any massacre occurred.

Furthermore several Japanese Prime Minister's, including current leader Shinzo Abe, have visited the Yasukuni Shrine honouring those, among others, who were instigators at Nanjing and just last week the visit of three Cabinet members provoked protests across China.

Sino-Japanese tensions today are not purely driven by this memory but it is always relevant. Rival claims to islands known as Senkaku (in Japan) and Diaoyu (in China) became particularly bitter last year when the Japanese Government bought three of the islands from a private owner.

The Chinese are by no means innocent in this discourse - far from it. Their Government has promoted an aggressive foreign policy in order to detract from internal corruption allegations and reform clamour while the discovery of valuable resources nearby is also a not so innocent motivation.

Anti Japanese protesters - such as these ones in 2012 - have been a constant fixture in China in recent yearsAnti Japanese protesters - such as these ones in 2012 - have been a constant fixture in China in recent years

Yet the popular outrage is genuine as well as government engineered and to China the dispute is but a further example of the same Japanese imperialism which was evident in 1937.

So what relevance does all of this have in Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympics? On the basic evidence of the Asian Youth Games not too much. There were some whistles during Japan's parade at the Opening Ceremony and extremely partisan support at events including Hong Kong's rugby sevens victory over Japan, but little more serious than a pantomime villain reception.

This was the line taken by Tokyo 2020 chief executive Masato Mizuno when he said that "sport is not the same as politics", and that while for sport "there are common rules for competing with each other, there is friendship and respect."

He added that "[Our neighbours in] Asia have been friends for many years and when I visit and meet them I'm sure they support us."

Yet the popular outrage is genuine as well as government engineered and to China the dispute is but a further example of the same Japanese imperialism which was evident in 1937Japan's rugby sevens semi-final with Hong Kong was one example of the home crowd strongly supporting Japan's opponents in Nanjing

Yet when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members actually vote in Buenos Aires next month it resembles politics more than sport and this support from Asian members is consequently far from guaranteed.

For points of comparison, London beat Paris by just four votes for 2012 and Sochi did likewise to Pyeongchang for 2014, while the battle for 2000 was won by Sydney over Beijing by an even smaller margin of two.

It might be politics' most worn out cliché but in elections every vote really does count and in a bid poised so intriguingly between three cities the contest should come down to two or three key decisions. Three IOC members are Chinese and others come from countries which tend to take a similarly anti-Japanese stance: Hong Kong and Singapore, Chinese Taipei and South Korea. There has been huge discussion concerning who these, and the 26 Asian IOC members in total, will choose and although no one is sure it is clear that failure from Tokyo with these figures will cost their bid dear.

The campaign may now be ostensibly proceeding along more diplomatic lines than the popular protests and Tokyo seems to be receiving a good reception. Yet old scars do not rub off easily, and with political tensions running high again, these Asian voters may indeed abandon Tokyo as the Japanese army abandoned Nanjing, and either Madrid or Istanbul will reap the benefits.

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Number-three seeded Breana Stampfli of T&T, advanced to the final of the Girls Singles Under-18 category yesterday at the St Vincent ITF Junior International Tennis Tournament, when her Canadian opponent Anjana Suresh could not go the distance.

Stampfli won the first set comfortably 6-3, but the fifth seeded Suresh fought back to win the second set 7-5 to set up an exciting final set. Unfortunately, with Stampfli leading 2-1 in the third set, Suresh was forced to retire due to a wrist injury.

Stampfli will meet Simone Pratt of Bahamas today in the final as Pratt fought back to win her semifinal match against Ryan Suresh of USA. After losing the first set 5-7, the number one seeded Pratt bounced back to win the second and third sets, 6-4, 6-3. When Stampfli and Pratt met in the St Lucia ITF final last week, Pratt rolled over Stampfli 6-0, 6-0.

In the all-American Boys U-18 Singles Semifinal, Myles Schalet and Sami Kirberg defeated Jesse Ruder-Hook and Gui Gomes respectively to advance to today’s final. Schalet got past Ruder-Hook 6-2, 6-2, while Kirberg outlasted Gomes 7-6, 6-2.

RESULTS

Girls Singles Semifinals Under-18

Breana Stampfli (T&T) def Anjana Suresh (CAN) 6-3, 5-7, 2-1

Simone Pratt (BAH) def Ryan Suresh (USA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

Boys Singles Semifinals U-18

Myles Schalet (USA) def Jesse Ruder-Hook (USA) 6-2, 6-2

Sami Kirberg (USA) def Gui Gomes (USA) 7-6, 6-2.

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Trinidad and Tobago will open its campaign in the World Youth Netball Championships against Bermuda tomorrow.

The competition started in spectacular style yesterday with a breathtaking opening ceremony followed by host nation Scotland’s first game against the Cayman Islands.

A 3000 strong crowd watched Scotland dominate on court as they beat Cayman Islands 72-21.

The Championships will run until August 31, in the Emirates Arena. All twenty teams will battle it out in 70 games across the next ten days.

Today will see Northern Ireland compete against Malta, Nimibia face Fiji, New Zealand against Bermuda and current world youth champions Australia battling it out against Israel.

Tomorrow night will see Jamaica compete against Samoa, Singapore face New Zealand and England playing Republic of Ireland.

There was a young enthusiastic crowd cheering the home nation on tonight. An astounding 5000 schoolchildren from across Scotland are attending the Championships. Children from as far away as Shetland and the Western Isles are making the long but exciting trip to Glasgow to get caught up in the electric atmosphere the Championships will deliver on.

Chair of Glasgow Life and the Executive Member of the Commonwealth Games, Councillor Archie Graham, said: “The World Youth Netball Championships kicked off tonight in spectacular style with some fantastic entertainment and sportsmanship. I couldn’t be prouder of the Scotland team who showed exceptional skill on the court and did their home nation proud with such an impressive win.”

“Tonight really gave us a taste of what is in store over the next ten days and I hope the people of Glasgow and Scotland come out in droves to support the teams.”

The Championships will feature some of the best young netball players from across the world. Host nation Scotland will battle it out against 19 other countries, from as far afield as Singapore and Samoa, in a bid to be crowned the best in the world at under-21 level.

The ten-day event, which is part of UK Sport’s £27million Gold Event Series, is the first world netball event to be staged in Scotland since 1987 and will take place less than a year before the sport takes centre stage at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Organisers are hoping to build on the success of the recent World Premier Club Challenge competition at the Emirates Arena, which was attended by around 2,500 netball fans.

The competing countries are: Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, England, Fiji, Israel, Jamaica, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Papau New Guinea, Republic of Ireland, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, T&T and Wales.

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Minister of Sports Anil Roberts yesterday hit back at officials of the T&T Football Association and T&T Hockey Board following criticism of his Ministry regarding funding for their teams’ participation at recent foreign competitions.

Allegations were made that late payments by the Ministry forced T&T’s Under 15 football team to withdraw from a Concacaf tournament in the Cayman Islands and the T&T senior hockey team’s trip to the Pan American Field Hockey Championships in Canada was jeopardised because of a lack of support from the Ministry.

Speaking at the Ministry’s office in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Roberts claimed that the organisations had failed to follow proper procedure for requesting funds by submitting late proposals and later laid the blame on the Ministry for their own “incompetence.”

“Lately I have seen a trend where when you are under pressure, when you are incompetent, you blame the Ministry,” he said. “I would like these NGBs to understand that there are rules for accessing taxpayers money... There is no incompetence fund for people who cannot budget properly, so don’t blame us. The responsibility falls on the same people who are talking but it is my turn to talk now.”

The Minister explained that the complicated and time-consuming procedure did not allow for requests to be made just ahead of a team’s departure.

“Every sporting organisation, early in the year, by March or April, must present their wishlist, their budget for the upcoming fiscal period. After this we sit down here at the Ministry and go through what is possible and what is not... It’s a very long process to deal with public funds so when people like the TTFA send a request on such short notice, it is absolutely ludicrous. Let me say that the TTFA never, on their initial budget, put anything about the Under 15 tournament in the Cayman Islands or Mars or anywhere on this planet or the universe. They then made a very late request on July 31 for a tournament that was due to begin in August. That is incompetence of the highest order.”

Despite the late request by the TTFA, Roberts said the Ministry tried its best, in the interest of the athletes, to put things in place though trouble booking flights had blocked them in the end. He also noted that the TTFA, without informing the Ministry, had hired elite coaches Leo Beenhakker and Stephen Hart for its senior national team at a price tag in the range of $75,000 US per month.

“When you allocated all that money to go towards the big boys, you did not care about children and then you came and made a late request and came and blamed the Ministry. Get your house in order and stop blaming the Ministry.”

Roberts also had harsh words for President of the T&T Hockey Board Douglas Camacho, who told the media the board had struggled to receive funding for the national team’s trip to Canada after putting in a request weeks in advance of the tournament. The Minister refutted his statements, claiming the Board’s request had been submitted just four days ahead of T&T’s first match on August 10.

“Mr Camacho, who has been president of the T&T Olympic Committee and TTHB, who has been involved in sport for so long, does not even understand the system up to now. You can spend many years in a job and learn absolutely nothing and talk absolute rubbish when you are ready,” he said, presenting the Board’s letter dated August 6. “First and foremost, his statement about several weeks is not true... Mr Camacho has the audacity to attack the Ministry for his total abject incompetence, his misinformation, his being a stranger to the truth. As a competent president of a board you must understand the system and budget in advance and if you cannot so do you should resign. Further more, he told an untruth to the national media... I am deeply disturbed that somebody who has spent so much time in sport knows so little. Mr Camacho when you are speaking please speak the truth. Our children are listening.”

Roberts added that the Ministry managed to scrape together approximately $243,000 for the trip, during which T&T eventually won a bronze medal.

“We don’t have any money sitting down here waiting to swipe a card to give Mr Douglas Camacho four days before a tournament because he cannot do his job properly so I call on the associations to get more professional and if people like Mr Camacho cannot handle it, come out and let somebody who can handle it do the job.”

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The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) is the national body established by the Government of Jamaica to direct the anti-doping programme specific to sports, including testing of athletes. JADCO continues to conduct comprehensive testing activities, in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards.

JADCO began testing in 2009 and has conducted eight hundred and sixty (860) tests during the period May 2009- June 2013.  Five hundred and four (504) In-Competition tests and three hundred and fifty six
(356) Out-of-Competition tests have been conducted.


In 2012, JADCO conducted one hundred and seventy nine (179) tests of which one hundred and eight
(108) were In-Competition and seventy one (71) Out-of-Competition. Of these one  hundred  and seventy nine (179) tests, forty (40) were conducted on behalf of other Associations and Federations.

From January -June 2013, JADCO has conducted two hundred and forty six (246) tests of which one hundred and sixty four (164) were In-Competition and eighty two (82) were Out-of-Competition.

The table below shows the tests conducted by JADCO from May 2009- June 2013:

In keeping with the JADCO Test Distribution Plan for 2012, tests were conducted in nine (9) sports. One hundred and thirty two (132) or seventy four percent (74%) of the tests were conducted for athletics, with ninety six (96) In-Competition and thirty six (36) Out-of-Competition.


The table below shows the distribution of tests conducted in 2012, by sport and by type of test.

JADCO is the authority in law for the Anti-Doping programme in sports in Jamaica and will provide quarterly updates, on the number of tests conducted . Steps are being taken to correct all international and local reports noted to be inaccurate.




Professor Winston Davidson, CD, JP
Acting Chairman
Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission

T&T will not be represented at this weekend’s Pan American Junior Championships in Medellin, Colombia. The local track and field body, the National Association for Athletic Associations (NAAA) had named a 20 member contingent (13 athletes and seven officials) for the meet.

The athletes have been in training at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in preparation to travel to Colombia, but NAAA secretary Allan Baboolal said the team was withdrawn because of a lack of funding.

“We sent a request to the Sport Company (Sportt) about two months ago and when we did check they said they did not have funds. By then the tickets had to be cancelled. However, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Sports Ashwin Creed, called yesterday (Monday) and indicated that they were trying to put some funds together but it would have been too late because to get flights to Panama and then to Colombia was extremely difficult.”

Baboolal was speaking on the return of the World Championship contingent from Moscow on Tuesday.

World Championships competitors Ayodelle Taffe and Domonique Williams, along with Carifta champions Machel Cedenio and Mark London were expected to contend for medals in Medellin.

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Dylan Carter, Jonathan Ramkissoon and Joshua Romany are now in the tapering phase of training for the Fina World Junior Swimming Championships scheduled from Monday to August 31 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The trio have been training together with the Davie Nadadores Swim Team of Florida from the start of August. Currently, they are involved in a training camp which started last Monday in Kuwait, to acclimatise to Middle Eastern conditions.

Carter, who has been a resident of the USA since September, had a very modest start in the sport and then blasted into age-group stardom in 2009 at the Carifta Swimming Championships in Aruba.

In dominant style, he won eight gold and one silver medal, achieved eight Carifta records and eight national records. He was also the most outstanding male swimmer in the 11‐12 division, and won the Landon Von Kanel award (for winning the 200m and 400m freestyle event). All of this was achieved in four days of swimming.

Carter went on to be a trailblazer in every Caribbean Championship thereafter. He was a finalist at the Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG 2011) in Isle of Man.

The 17-year-old even qualified for this year’s World Senior Championships held in Barcelona but opted to focus on World Junior event instead. In Dubai, he is carded to compete in the 50m butterfly, 50m and 100m backstroke as well as the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle.

Carter said: “I feel confident going into the meet. I will not set any limits to what I can achieve but I hope to come out with best times in all my events. Training has been tough and the time change is still affecting us over here in Kuwait. This meet is the biggest meet of my life and it is what I have been focusing on for the past few months, so it has become a big deal for me.”

Romany joined Carter to train at Davie in mid-June. In 2006 he made his first national team in the 9-10 age division at the Goodwill Swim Meet in Suriname.

In 2007, he got a chance to represent T&T at Carifta in Jamaica. While predictably he did not win any individual medal at this meet, this became the impetus for this young man to etch his place in Caribbean history. Romany went on to set many national and Caribbean records in the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle events.

In 2010, he was the only national to qualify for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Maui, Hawaii. He made the finals in the 50m free event and established himself on the international stage having recorded one of the fastest times in the world for a 14-year-old. He also went on to set three new national records in the 50m, 100m and 200m free style events. In 2011, the World Juniors championships was in Lima, Peru; while he did not make the semifinals, he was the top 15-year-old in 50m and 100m free events and the second fastest 15-year-old in the 200m free event.

Like Carter, Romany was a finalist at Commonwealth Youth Games 2011. The following year, both Carter and Romany narrowly missed B cuts for the 2012 London Olympics. This year, in Dubai, Romany is expected to compete in the 50m, 100m and 200 freestyle, 50m and 100m butterfly and 100m backstroke. Romany has expressed confidence going into the meet.

“This is the hardest I have ever trained for a competition and I am optimistic. I am aiming to make every final and hopefully medal. Training is very challenging and a lot more than I am usually accustomed too,” Romany said.

Ramkissoon has had the least competitive swimming experience of all the athletes on the team. This 17-year-old made his first national team in 2010. He qualified for World Juniors during the height of his final year CAPE II examinations. He became the first T&T athlete under 18 years to swim faster than 30 seconds in the 50m breaststroke LC, and the first T&T male breaststroker to qualify for World Juniors since its inception in 2006.

A holder of two national records, Ramkissoon is finishing his age-group career without that elusive regional individual gold medal, but the achievement of World Juniors qualification far surpasses that precious metal. Ramkissoon arrived at Davie on August 3 to train alongside and Carter and Romany. He would compete in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

Ramkissoon says he is “very pumped” for the meet.

“Training has been great so far with fellow Trinis and the rest of the Caribbean guys,” said Ramkissoon. “The meet is another step in my swimming career and a link between junior and senior swimming. My aim is to achieve personal bests in my events. Being at the world championships is huge for me, and I am giving my all for my country.”

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Top T&T swimmer George Bovell has set his sights on medalling at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which he believes will be possible once he receives the proper backing. Bovell made the comments during a welcome ceremony held in his honour at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad in Port-of-Spain yesterday evening. The 30-year-old recently won a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle at the recent FINA World Championships in Barcelona in a national record time of 21.51 as well as one gold (100m IM) and two bronze (50m Free, 100m IM) medals at FINA World Cup Series events in Holland and Germany.

Addressing the media alongside his coach and Minister of Sport Anil Roberts, he said his achievements in Europe were an indication that he was still at the top of his game. “In our sport there are some people who you might think are unbeatable. Maybe it’s things they’re doing. Maybe it’s technology on their side. Maybe it’s nefarious means, but this medal here is proof that one man from T&T can beat those people,” he said. “Anything can happen if you prepare and go out there and give your best effort. I believe that this can be just a taste of what we can get in Rio if we do it right. I hope the people of T&T can come around and support me; five Olympics and another medal. Let’s go!”

Bovell also expressed his gratitude towards his corporate sponsors Atlantic LNG and NP as well as the people of T&T for their continued support of his swimming career. “In sports like swimming you don’t make a lot of money and to represent the country at this high level, it is impossible for me to work a regular job when the people I’m trying to beat are training, fully funded and professional athletes. Their continued support helps me to bring these medals back to my country.” Meanwhile, Roberts cited Bovell’s independence as the reason for his success. “George Bovell has little to no need for me as a coach. He is a better coach than all of us put together because he is a brilliant mind and a student of the game. He understands himself and his sport better than anyone on this planet. He has been doing it for himself, thinking by himself. For him to win this medal from lane eight was all about the brilliance and the individuality and the spirt and understanding of the competitive nature of George Bovell III.”

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Atlantic sport ambassador and Olympic sailor, Andrew Lewis was sevens years old when his father sent him to his first sailing camp, where he developed a passion for the sport. Since then the student has become the teacher, as he has hosted hundreds of children at various sailing camps across the country, which most recently included a five-day camp for the children of Atlantic’s employees. “I had the opportunity at a very young age to be exposed to sailing, and that was the beginning of my passion for the sport. Hopefully, through these camps, I can be the start of a new sailing journey for someone else”, Lewis explained.

The sailing camp, which was held at the Vessigny Beach Facility, attracted children between the ages of 8-15, and was part of Lewis’ ongoing series of sailing camps for young children in T&T. He has hosted sessions at Guapo Beach, Vessigny, Chaguaramas, and Pigeon Point, Tobago, and received recognition from the Ministry of Sport and the Sports Company of T&T (SporTT) for his work with children, when he was named Community Coach for 2012 at the annual Spirit of Sports Awards, hosted by SporTT. As a former national high performance coach, he enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences with young sailing enthusiasts across the country and strengthening national interest in the sport. “I am glad that I am in a position where I can help to grow the sport in T&T, and expose kids who may not have had the opportunity to get into a sport like sailing. Hopefully we will soon see more young people taking up the sport locally”, he said.
Through this initiative, children learn more about boat safety, tying knots and preparing boats for water, culminating with the young sailors being able to navigate their own boats on the water.

“The way Andrew explained things, sailing became simple and enjoyable, and it is definitely something I would like to continue”, said 15-year-old Kyron Smart, one of the participants in the sailing camp at Vessigny. Additionally, Lewis points out that not only is sailing fun, but the sport teaches various lessons which children can apply to everyday life. “Sailing demands discipline and really demands that you be alert, learn to be independent and confident in your abilities as a sailor. You also have a responsibility to maintaining your boat, and this helps to foster greater accountability among the kids”, said Lewis. “The fantastic thing about sport is that the learning process is so natural that children often do not realise that they are learning.” Lewis is currently participating in the CORK Olympic Class Regatta in Canada, which is another step in his preparation for the 2013 Laser World Championships which will be held in Oman in November.

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World champion Jehue Gordon has the potential to dominate the men’s 400 metres hurdles.

This is the view of Dr Ian Hypolite, the man who has coached the Trinidad and Tobago athlete from the age of 12, steering him to Carifta triumphs, the world junior title, and now, IAAF World Championship gold.

On Thursday, at the Luzhniki Stadium here in Moscow, Russia, 21-year-old Gordon emerged victorious in the World Championship final in a fast 47.69 seconds, the clocking earning him top spot on the 2013 world performance list and 22nd spot all-time.

“Progress,” Hypolite told the Express, “is not always mathematical. Jehue’s ahead of his time, and is still maturing physically. Provided we can keep him healthy and continue to rectify some of his weaknesses, we feel he will go on to dominate the sport. That is the goal.”

The coach described Gordon as the quintessential professional.

“His approach to training and to life in general is very meticulous.

“He’s a tremendous student of the game. I have learnt from Jehue because his analytical skills are excellent. He’s able to convey his experiences. That is the hallmark of a champion.

“Jehue Gordon,” Hypolite continued, “will not miss a training session unless something really, really serious takes place. He never complains. All of these things contribute to making him the type of person he is, and a champion.”

Hypolite said he was beside himself with excitement when Gordon dived across the finish line to secure gold in the one-lap hurdles championship race.

“I was overjoyed…the reality of such a dream coming true. So many things could have gone wrong—had he not dived over the line, he would not have won. A lot of hard work and precise planning had finally borne fruit. I simply shouted to Ed Skinner that we did it.”

Hypolite and Edwin Skinner are coaches at the Memphis Pioneers Athletic Club. Both men are also among the coaches here in Moscow with the T&T World Championship team.

Hypolite said Gordon’s triumph was not a big surprise, explaining that there were “so many signs that something special was about to happen”.

“All his sessions were documented for several years, and over time we have been comparing. Jehue started doing things at the start of the season that he never did before, but we never planned to show our hand too early in a championship year.

“The 48 in Monaco (on July 19) was very well timed, and the (pre-Worlds) camp in Finland was particularly beneficial. Then he started to do things he had never done before. In Russia, he had a workout that was absolutely amazing.

“The night before (the first round),” the coach continued, “he came into the room and spoke about a strange calm he was experiencing. I suggested to him that was confidence and that he start believing in himself. Then, he executed the prelims almost effortlessly. And in the semis, he shut off and ran a fast time (48.10).”

There was criticism from some quarters when Gordon decided to stay in T&T, attend University of the West Indies (UWI) and continue training under the guidance of Hypolite, rather than campaign on the American collegiate circuit.

“There have always been detractors. We live in a society that is always like that. The detractors have inspired me and brought out the best in myself. When you undertake to coach someone like Jehue Gordon, who has shown such potential as a youngster, the responsibility means developing yourself to help him fulfill it.

“I always felt confident I could do it, and Jehue also felt confident in me. That’s why he chose to stay. I felt obligated to match his commitment.”

Hypolite said he expects that more T&T athletes will opt to train at home, leading to the development of a group similar to Usain Bolt’s Racers Track Club and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s MVP Track Club, in Jamaica.

“I think it is going to happen. I imagine Jehue’s success would be a catalyst.”

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• MOSCOW


Yes, Usain Bolt dazzled again.

He usually does on the biggest of stages, taking all suspense out of races early and leaving everyone else to compete for medals other than gold.

Unlike Bolt’s races, however, these World Championships packed plenty of drama. Some of it wasn’t so much for race finishes as the finish on the fingernails of two Swedish athletes. To show support for Russian gays and lesbians in the face of an anti-gay law, they went with rainbow nail polish during competition.

That prompted a complaint from Russian pole vault great Yelena Isinbayeva, who said she supported Russia’s law and that Russians have “normal” heterosexual relations.

Isinbayeva later backed off her remarks, saying she may have been misunderstood because she was speaking in English instead of her native language.

On the track, Bolt was the show once more. When is that not the case? He picked up three more titles and is now the most decorated male athlete in World Championship history with eight golds and two silvers, moving past Carl Lewis (eight golds, one silver, one bronze).

Fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also earned three gold medals as the proud sprinting country swept the men’s and women’s 100, 200 and 4x100 relays.

Here are five things we learned after nine days of competition at the world championships:


1. BOLT SAVES THE DAY: With all of the doping scandals of late, track needed someone to rescue the sport.

Enter Bolt, even wearing his country’s flag as a cape, just like Superman.

Not only did he breeze to wins, he did so in memorable fashion. He won the 100 in a downpour, complete with lightning before and after the race.

For a moment, he helped blow away the dark clouds — Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell, Sherone Simpson and Veronica Campbell-Brown all tested positive for a banned substance and didn’t attend the Worlds.

“I’m just doing my part by running fast, winning titles and letting the world know you can do it clean,” Bolt said.

2. MR & MRS EATON: The Eatons skipped a honeymoon to win medals.

First, Olympic champion Ashton Eaton took the decathlon crown. Not to be outdone, his wife, Brianne Theisen Eaton of Canada, captured silver in the heptathlon.

The couple went to the University of Oregon and married July 13. Now, it may be time to relax.

“Go lay on the beach,” Theisen Eaton said. “But if we did that, I’d just shut my eyes and in 10 minutes he would go, ‘How much longer are we going to lay here? Let’s go play volleyball or something.’ He can’t sit around too long.”

3. RAINBOW BRIGHT: Isinbayeva has set 28 world records and won three world titles, including one in front of a boisterous home crowd last week. Only now she may be remembered more for what she voiced in a news conference that what she’s vaulted. The two-time Olympic champion who will serve as “mayor” of one of the Sochi Games villages spoke out in favour of her country’s anti-gay stance.

“If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves like normal, standard people,” Isinbayeva said in English. “We just live with boys with woman, woman with boys.

“We never had any problems, these problems in Russia, and we don’t want to have any in the future.”

Two Swedes — high jumper Emma Green Tregaro and sprinter Moa Hjelmer — sported rainbow colours on their nails to offer support for gay rights. In the final, Green Tregaro went with red nails after track officials said the earlier gesture might violate the meet’s code of conduct.

“It was harder to not paint them in the rainbow than it was to choose to paint them,” Green Tregaro said.

4. YOUNG AMERICANS: The United States boasted a youthful squad that included 17-year-old Mary Cain, who finished 10th in the 1,500. Still, the Americans came away with 25 medals, eight more than Russia. But only six of them were gold as Russia edged them with seven. It’s the first time the US failed to at least tie for the gold-medal lead since the first world championships in Helsinki 30 years ago.

“Everybody is going to say, ‘Well, Russia had more gold medals than we did,’” US men’s coach Mike Holloway said. “But if you look at the youth of this team, there’s a very bright future for U.S. track and field.”

5. RELAY WOES: Passing the baton remains problematic for the U.S.

The women’s 4x400 and 4x100 relays and the men’s 4x100 all had hiccups on their way to silver medals. The women were missing Allyson Felix for both relays after she tore her hamstring in the 200 final.

In contrast, the men’s 4x400 did successfully get it around to capture a fifth straight world crown.

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Trinidad and Tobago national hockey team coach Glen Francis is hoping that his team’s third place finish at the Pan Am Cup in Ontario Canada over the weekend will serve as a catalyst for development of the sport in T&T.

Francis, who returned to T&T yesterday with the national men’s hockey team, said his players had to overcome a lot of challenges just to be part of the tournament and hopes future teams will benefit from their success.

“It was excellent work from the guys and a lot of sacrifice from the players,” Francis told the Express yesterday.

“They sacrificed. They worked hard. We actually had to clean the pitch we trained on with our own funds and again it was a lot of hard work...no money, no nothing.

“It was really a sacrifice and in the end we got a medal and we are really happy about that,” Francis added.

“Some players took time off from their jobs and from school. Some have children and had to juggle a lot of things to attend training...it was really tough,” the coach explained.

He also noted that the players even had to raise money themselves and that they arrived in Canada for the tournament a day before having to play their first match.

“That is life but we took the negative and turned it into positive. We did not dwell on the negative too much. We reached in one day before our first game and that was unheard of in any international tournament and then we beat teams ranked higher than us and that was excellent and a real team effort.

“We took everything with a pinch of salt and when we got knocked down, we just got back up,” he said.

The coach said the Pan Am Cup was a big tournament for the team with the winners qualifying for the 2014 Men’s World Cup.

Having sacrificed so much, Francis is now hoping that future national teams will benefit from better funding.

“We did not get a medal in 40-plus years (at this Pan Am level) and now we really hope that with this one, we can get some funding to help with the development programme, which we had before but it crashed.”

Francis explained that having a working development programme is important if the sport is to grow and  create a larger base of players to choose from for future tournaments.

“We need to get the programme back so we can get a good base of players coming through and bring some excitement back into hockey.

“Hockey is not one of the top sports but we have some players who are world class like Kwandwane Browne and Mickell Pierre, Akim Toussaint...these are players who can fit into any team in the world,” Francis added.

He noted that Aiden De Gannes, Cogie Butler and Kwesi Emmanuel--who was one of the youngest players in the tournament at 16 years old--as well as Marcus James were some of the players coming through past development programmes.

“It (development programmes) had a lot of benefits and we hoping more players can come through. We were fortunate to have some really talented people to get things started.

“At the start everybody wanted wins but I think the team is now becoming a dominant force in this part of the region.

“Our next tournament is next year and we would really like to get some teams here to play. We have to see what the board thinks and see what we can plan for the future,” the coach added.

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Tyla Martin and Kristin Julien have expressed excitement about their participation in the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, from August 26–31, at the fourth edition, to be held at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Martin, who lives in Boca Raton, Florida, started representing T&T in the second year of the 11-12 age-group. There she took Caribbean swimming by storm and won 11 gold medals in the 2010 Carifta Swimming Championships in Kingston, Jamaica. In the process she set eight Carifta and three national records and was the FINA high point winner and most outstanding 11-12 female at the meet.

From there she continued to excel bringing glory to T&T each time she dove into the pool. Fast track to this year and she is still making waves regionally. At the Carifta Swimming Championships earlier this year, she won five gold and two silver, with a national record in the 200 metre butterfly.

Born to a Trinidadian mother, Babette, and an American father, Craig, Martin first showed her mettle to the T&T public at the December 2009 ASATT Invitational. Her mother always wanted her to swim for T&T and through conversation with now World Juniors coach Franz Huggins, and former aquatic director Hayden Newallo, that dream was realised.

The 16-year-old mermaid, who trains with Pine Crest Swim Club in Florida, is bubbling with excitement and is well prepared for competition in Dubai.

“I am feeling excited going into the meet. I have been preparing for months so I am definitely ready to race. My goals for the meet are to go personal bests and make finals. Training was tough. I have trained through all the meets so it feels good to finally be tapering. This meet is by far the biggest meet I have ever qualified and I am thrilled to be competing for T&T at the world junior national level. This is going to be one of the best experiences and I am elated to be a part of it.”

Since August 10, Martin and Julien have been training together at Pine Crest before going off to Dubai on Friday. Julien too is rearing to go after months of preparation for the World Juniors.

Julien has been consistent in representing T&T with an impressive track record since the 11-12 age-group. Born to Wayne and Beverly Julien, Kristin has displayed a series of consistent performances, which has etched her in our national record books.

This native of San Fernando has established national and regional records in the 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly during the course of her career. She has been the ASATT Swimmer of the Year of her respective age-group for the period 2008–2011, and is a member of Titans swim club.

Before this achievement of qualifying for the Junior Championships, her career highlight was being a finalist in the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man. Julien qualified for Worlds in December last year after recovering from an injury which kept out of competition for most of 2012.

The energetic 17-year-old is ready for the Dubai experience.

“Going in to the meet I am more excited than nervous. I am looking to achieve some personal bests in all my events. This meet means a lot to me knowing all the hard training I had in preparation for it and also get a chance to prove wrong all those who thought I could not make it. I have had a lot of support from family, friends and my club, and I am going to swim with all my heart for T&T”.

Martin is scheduled to compete individually in the 50m, 100m, and 200m butterfly, 200m and 400m freestyle.

Julien is entered in the 50m backstroke, butterfly and freestyle events, and the 100m backstroke.

Both girls are expected to swim in the mixed 4x100m medley and freestyle relays. The other athletes on the team are Dylan Carter, Jonathan Ramkissoon and Joshua Romany.

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No stopping Jehue Gordon as he seeks more success after his spectacular showing at the recently concluded IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

The 21-year-old arrived in London yesterday to compete in two more meets before he returns to T&T in September.

“I am looking forward to this. We have some commitments now in Europe that have been finalised and that I will be participating in,” said the 21-year-old Gordon.

“There is still work to do on the track. I have to remain focused and therefore I am looking forward to this. Of course winning this means that people will be aware of me more but that is just part of success, the important point is to keep focused and the team around me is making certain of that.”

His gold medal in the Men’s 400 metres hurdles final, propelled T&T to joint 12th place on the medal table with Colombia, New Zealand, Croatia, Sweden, Ireland and Uganda.

Host Russia made full use of home advantage and topped the table with 17 medals—seven gold, four silver and six bronze. USA was second with six gold medals, 14 silver and five bronze, 25 in total while Jamaica was third, matching the Americans six gold with two silver and a bronze to tally nine medals overall.

Gordon on Friday stood on the medal rostrum, holding his hand to his heart and sang along as the national anthem of T&T was played for only the second time in the history of these Championships, that started 30 years ago in 1983. Ato Boldon won T&T’s first gold medal in 1997 with victory in the 200m.

“It was just an unbelievable feeling being there to experience it. It was a dream of mine and the team with me and it felt so great and made me so very proud for everyone who has supported me,” Gordon said.

“When the national anthem was being played, I felt as if, yes, this is for my country, this is for the people of T&T and this is to show that we can achieve success with the work from local coaches, Dr Ian Hypolite and Edwin Skinner.

“I was a little nervous but just to receive the medal and to experience this makes me want to do more. This is great incentive to continue to learn and to continue to listen, and I hope that others in T&T can use the success that we had in this event to inspire them as well,” said a focused Gordon.

“As well, I still have some course work to complete and I have to do that as well, as education is equally important for me,” said the former Queens Royal College student.

Medal Table

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze total

1 Russia 7 4 6 17

2 USA 6 14 5 25

3 Jamaica 6 2 1 9

4 Kenya 5 4 3 12

5 Germany 4 2 1 7

6 Ethiopia 3 3 4 10

7 G Britain/NI 3 0 3 6

8 Czech Republic 2 0 1 3

8 Ukraine 2 0 1 3

10 France 1 2 1 4

11 Poland 1 2 0 3

12 Colombia 1 0 0 1

12 Croatia 1 0 0 1

12 Ireland 1 0 0 1

12 NewZealand 1 0 0 1

12 Sweden 1 0 0 1

12 T&T 1 0 0 1

12 Uganda 1 0 0 1

19 Australia 0 2 1 3

20 Ivory Coast 0 2 0 2

21 Canada 0 1 4 5

22 China 0 1 3 4

23 Cuba 0 1 2 3

24 Netherlands 0 1 1 2

24 Nigeria 0 1 1 2

26 Botswana 0 1 0 1

26 Finland 0 1 0 1

26 Hungary 0 1 0 1

26 Italy 0 1 0 1

26 Qatar 0 1 0 1

31 Spain 0 0 2 2

31 Serbia 0 0 2 2

33 Djibouti 0 0 1 1

33 DomRepublic 0 0 1 1

33 Estonia 0 0 1 1

33 Japan 0 0 1 1

33 Mexico 0 0 1 1

33 South Africa 0 0 1 1

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T&T’s Joshua Abraham was off to a confident start as he whipped local Akeizo Quammie 6-0, 6-1 in the Boys Under 18 Singles first round of the St Vincent ITF Junior International Tennis Tournament in Villa yesterday.

However, his female compatriots Danielle Devenish and Makalah Goodridge suffered early eliminations. Devenish went down 6-0, 6-0 to American Ryan Peus while Goodridge lost 6-3, 6-1 to Antiguan Noah Peters.

Meanwhile in the adjacent Wilson COTECC Under 14 Circuit Tournament, Joshua Arnold battled to a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win over St Lucian Adriel Bousquet while Kobe James was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Grenadan Ukpioronfo Ikolo.

Results

Boys Under 18 Singles First Round

Joshua Abraham (T&T) bt Akeizo Quammie (Vin) 6-0, 6-1

Girls Under 18 Singles First round

Ryan Peus (USA) bt Danielle Devenish (T&T) 6-0, 6-0, Noah Peters (Ant) bt Makalah Goodridge (T&T) 6-3, 6-1

Boys Under 14 Singles First Round

Joshua Arnold (T&T) bt Adriel Bousquet (Lca) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, Ukpioronfo Ikolo (Grn) bt Kobe James (T&T) 6-3, 6-4.

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