The Special Olympics swim team are a proud bunch after splashing to five medals — three gold, two bronze — at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Los Angeles, USA, recently.

Bringing home the gold for this country are Nikoli Lalla (50m breaststroke), Chavez Lamy (25m backstroke) and Jariah Walker (25 m backstroke). Clinching bronze in the 50m freestyle was Shania Surujbally, bouncing back in style from a fourth place finish in another race.

And yesterday, Melissa Nanan, competing in the 25m backstroke, stopped the clock at 30.01 seconds to finish in third place behind Croatia’s Tanja Zabic (29.05) and Uruguay’s Paula Bonifacio (29.96).

Earlier, Lalla and and Lamy had sounded a warning to their rivals with victories in the preliminary rounds while Walker was second but performed to his peak when it counted in the final.

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MACHEL CEDENIO confirmed his status as one of the world’s foremost 400 metre runners yesterday, taking the gold medal in his pet event with a typically dramatic finish at the IAAF Diamond League Grand Prix meet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Just weeks before the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, the lanky southerner, still two months short of his 20th birthday, has stamped his name firmly among the few of the quality to challenge Olympic champion Kirani James for one lap sprint gold.

In the process, Cedenio, the Pan Am Games silver medallist also exacted revenge on the Dominican Republic’s Luguelin Santos, who had beaten him to the Pan Am gold in Toronto.

What made his victory the more remarkable was the fact that despite falling way behind the leaders at 300 metres, Cedenio was the only athlete to finish under 45 seconds.

One of only two TT athletes who competed in Stockholm, Cedenio appeared initially to be out of medal contention.

When the runners cleared the final turn, the World Junior champion, running in lane five, was second-to-last; Jamaican Rusheen Mc Donald (lane 6) and Santos (lane 8) were leading the pack home.

Cedenio then began to accelerate, passing athlete after athlete, almost as though they were stationary. He crossed the line first, in 44.97 seconds; Santos followed, almost a quarter of a second behind in 45.21, while Britain’s Martyn Rooney took the bronze in 45.41.

Victory for the TT quarter-miler came in just his second appearance in the Diamond League; he was sixth in New York on June 13 in 45.89, just behind countryman Renny Quow (5th, 45.57) in a race won by South African Wayde Van Niekerk (44.24).

Van Niekerk heads the Diamond League Men’s 400m points standings with eight; Cedenio is now tied for second with Bahamian Steven Gardiner, on four; Americans La Shawn Merritt and David Verburg are next, on three points each.

Defending World and Olympic Champion Kirani James has not appeared in the Diamond League since finishing second (44.17) behind Van Niekerk (43.96) in Paris on July 4.

Meanwhile, Pan Am Games gold medallist Cleopatra Borel finished down the field in the Women’s Shot Put, sixth of eight competitors with a best throw of 18.25 metres. Germany’s Christiana Schwanitz (20.13) claimed the gold, while American Michelle Carter (19.24) and Hungary’s Anita Marzon (18.74) took the minor placings.

Jamaica’s World and Olympic sprint champion, Shelly Ann Fraser- Pryce won the Women’s 100 metres in 10.93 seconds; American Tori Bowie (11.05) took the silver and Pryce’s compatriot Natasha Morrison (11.22) got the bronze.

The Diamond League series now takes a break for the World Championships, which open on August 22 in Beijing, China.

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LOCAL RUGBY authorities are hoping that the lack of support and proper facilities for the sport do not deter the country’s rising young talent. This week, as a select squad of high school students trained at the Queen’s Park Savannah for a a trip to Canada, they could not avoid some of the challenges facing the sport.

The TT Schools Rugby Union has selected a 26-man squad to play four matches in a seven-day tour of Ontario-part of an ongoing initiative to get prospective future national players attuned to the trials and pressure of the game at international level.

“This team is really the best out of the schools league,” the team’s assistant manager Ronnie Annandsingh said, underlining the fact that they were operating within limits, as the schools arm of the governing body, the TT Rugby Football Union (TTRFU). “We are hoping that after the schools league, that they join a club and eventually go on to play Under-19 and Under-21 in the TTRFU Senior Division.”

The players were drawn from a wide spread: Fatima, St Mary’s, QRC, Belmont Boys, Tranquillity, St Anthony’s, Mucurapo, Maple Leaf, the International School, St George’s College (Barataria) and St Benedict’s (La Romain).

“We’ve selected the best players out of the north, and also from a south-east school select. The schools union has no league in south as yet, but this (coming) season, we are starting a league at under-14 level,” added Annandsingh, who is also the senior TT squad manager.

They all had to train in the mud and tall grass of an uncut section of the Savannah, opposite the Botanical Gardens, avoiding fitness enthusiasts who were jogging around what used to be the “sand track.” “That happens at senior level, with Sevens rugby,” the former player continued, even as team manager Graham Chin broke into a smile, perhaps, of resignation. “The best we can do is hope that some point there is a home for rugby; but for now, the reality is the reality. The important thing is that we still get the commitment from the players to come out and train.”

Another challenge, common to most amateur sports played in TT, is funding. The budget for the Ontario trip is $402,000; even so, they are now into the third successive annual trip Canada with the schoolboys, after playing in Barbados in 2011 and 2012. Much of the funding has come from corporate TT including the Newsday. Annandsingh believes it is critical to the survival of the sport in TT and the development of a core of competent international players.

“We are trying to give the fellas the exposure. This is really a development tour. To increase their basic skills, how to play against opponents in a particular situation, how to react,” he said. “We are giving them that opportunity. The more games you play, the more practice games you have, the better you will become eventually.”

They have less than a week before leaving for Ontario; the tour runs from August 7-15.

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T&T Under-20 Women Soca Warrior player Maya Matouk is of the firm belief that she and her teammates have not accomplished anything and must remained focused on the task at their feet. And that entails maintaining their team bond and improving as a unit as they move on to the Caribbean Football Union Under 20 Women’s Championship in Haiti in October.

Matouk, a student at University of Tampa, led T&T’s charge in their 6-0 defeat of Dominica in their CFU Under-20 Women’s closing first round fixture at Victoria Park, Kingstown, St Vincent and The Grenadines, on Tuesday night, to see them top Group Four with maximum six points. T&T now moves onto the Finals round-of qualifiers in Haiti from which the top three teams from the eight-team tournament will advance to the Concacaf Finals.

At stake in that final tournament in Honduras  in December will be a place in the 2016 Fifa Under 20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea. “Even though we accomplished our first objective, going on to the next round is going to require us to stay even more humble and dedicated as we will be facing teams that are stronger,” a confident Matouk said.

“We will take the experience of the past games with us and hope to increase our level of play to be victorious in the next qualifying round. Winning this first round was definitely a confidence boost for all and this will keep our spirits high,” she continued.

Looking back at the game in which she notched a double, the ex-St Ann’s Rangers and IMG Academy player said sticking to the game plan laid out by head coach Jason Spence and proper communication among the players and staff were key factors. “Sticking to the game plan given by coach was definitely the key factor in our performance. We were told to give everything we had when we stepped out on the field and that’s exactly what we did,” she said.

The team was skippered by central defender Renee Mike and included the likes of the talented Amaya Ellis, Chelcy Ralph, Tsaianne Leander who scored a double in the 2-0 win over St Vincent and The Grenadines, Shauna-Lee Govia, Naomie Guerra and goalkeeper Nicolette Craig.

“We stayed focused and humble throughout the qualifiers. Being a team with all teammates fully committed and willing to strive for excellence made our goal easier to achieve. We developed an effective method of communication and this was another important factor that allowed the game to be played smoothly,” Matouk added.

The T&T forward was a member of the T&T Under-17 Women’s Team that won the 2013 Caribbean title in Haiti, beating the hosts 1-0 in the final. She is familiar with the conditions there and has a feel for that stage. “Now we have a few weeks to prepare for the next stage which is going to be tougher and will require more out of us. But I think everyone’s up for it and we’ll be working  towards staying on top of our game and pull off the results to keep us going in this campaign,” Matouk said.

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Olympic and Pan American Games medallist Emmanuel Callender says the determination of this country’s athletes to always excel has led to T&T’s improved medal position at the Pan American Games, which came to an end in Toronto, Canada, last weekend.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian at Piarco International Airport on the team’s return home on Tuesday morning, he said, “We came out with eight medals. We also came out with a lot of personal best. The team is a fairly new one. We have some new athletes running on the 4 x 100 relay. The chemistry is now starting to build. It’s a very good one.”

Of the relay team of which he was a member, Callender said, “We only had one day to practice before we ran that 4 by 100m. We had to pull it together as quickly as possible. I think we did very well. We came off the heat above a lot of other countries. Our hand-offs weren’t the best, but we can work on it and make things a lot better.”

With his sights already fixed on this country’s participation at the World Championships and other international meets later this year, Callender said the 4 by 100-metre relay team of which he was apart, which secured bronze for T&T, still needed to overcome some technical hurdles from the starter to the anchor, if they were to retain a place on the podium in the future.

During the time they spent together, he was clear that his teammates were undoubtedly committed. Commenting on his present form, the 100 metre sprinter said if the Rio 2016 Olympic was tomorrow he would not be ready. He believed same could be said for his teammates.

“I don’t think people understand what it takes to step up on that Olympic podium. It’s not an easy task. We have to work a lot closer with the Minister of Sport and the TTOC and other organisations and corporate T&T, to help the athletes in terms of finances because finances are a main part in preparation going towards the Olympic Games. Truth be told, most of the athletes don’t work. We have to depend on the Olympic Solidarity Fund and the Elite Funding to ensure that we stay healthy, pay coaching fees, pay rent and the other stuff so we could be on the medal podium,” he said.

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T&T’s Machel Cedenio clocked 44.97 to win the Men’s 400m at the IAAF Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday. The 19-year-old unleashed a burst of speed on the final stretch which left the crowd stunned. “That was astonishing from Cedenio,” remarked one television commentator. “It just all changed in the last 40m. It was quite incredible.”

Dominican Republic’s Luguelin Santos nabbed the silver in 45.21 while Great Britain’s Martyn Rooney was third in a season’s best of 45.41. The result bumped Cedenio up to third in the Diamond League 400m standings with four points. He is led by Grenada’s Kirani James and Russia’s Wayde Van Niekerk, who have each won two races this season.

It capped off a successful week for Cedenio, who earlier managed an individual 400m silver and anchored T&T’s gold medal winning 4x400m run at the Pan American Games in Toronto, which ended on Sunday.

Also announcing herself yesterday was Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who warmed up for the world championships with a dominant win in the women’s 100 metres. Fraser-Pryce, the world and Olympic champion, clocked 10.93 seconds in the headline race to beat Tori Bowie of the U.S. by 0.12 seconds.

“The time wasn’t what I wanted, but I’m grateful I came out here and did my best,” Fraser-Pryce said. “There’s always pressure going into a world championships, but I’m not worried about that. I’m not worried about anything.” Fraser-Pryce also reiterated her stance that she won’t defend her 200 title at the worlds, a day after hinting she may change her mind and run both distances.

“In Beijing, I’m not running the 200. I’m telling my coach he has to change my mind,” she said. “The 200 is too far, so I’m set for the 100.”

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