JOANNA PIANGO claimed a gold medal in the equestrian yesterday as Trinidad and Tobago collected six more medals (one gold, one silver and three bronze) at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Up to press time last evening, the Trinidad and Tobago contingent had a haul of 32 medals - 16 gold, six silver and ten bronze.

Piango triumphed in the EQ Equestrian English Equitation Division Two with a score of 53.00.

Nicholas McKnight was the most successful TT performer on the day, as he collected four medals — one silver and three bronze medals in powerlifting.

He placed second in the PL Male Bench Press Division M6 with a best effort of 67.50 kilogrammes. And he finished third in three categories — PL Male Squat Lift Division M6 (67.50 kg), PL Male Combination All Lifts Division M6 (240.0 kg) and PL Male Dead Lift Division M6 (105.0 kg).

Trinidad and Tobago a team of 65 athletes and officials at the Games, and they are seeking to better their achievement at the last Games, which took place in 2011 at Athens, Greece.

Four years ago, the TT participants returned home with a tally of 39 medals - 12 gold, 16 silver and 11 bronze.

The entire Special Olympics contingent comprised of athletes in eight disciplines — aquatics, athletics, basketball, bocce, equestrian, football, powerlifting and volleyball.

The national swim team are yet to feature at the Games, but veteran disability swim coach Stephen Telfer is confident that his charges will reap rewards, in terms of medals.

“I am constantly amazed at the effort the athletes give at each training session,” he said, before the team left Trinidad. I’ve been coaching for years and my athletes never let me down. I expect we’ll be returning home with a lot of precious metal!”

In related news, Digicel showed its appreciation to hundreds of families, volunteers and Local Organising Committees from 23 countries in a celebration event in Los Angeles, California, at the Westin Bonavenure Hotel on Friday last.

Source

Over the next five years, Toyota Trinidad and Tobago will inject a total of $750,000 into the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee’s (TTOC) 10 or more gold medals by 2024 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund.

This announcement was made at Olympic House on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, where TTOC president Brian Lewis and Toyota’s local marketing manager Sean Shaffie, elaborated on the partnership. Toyota TT’s inclination to get on board and heavily involved with the developments of the TTOC will see the major multi-national corporation invest $150,000 per annum into the Fund, until the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Toyota TT’s most recent venture has now made them the official vehicle and mobility partner for the TTOC. In addition to financial aid, the motor corporation will provide transport for the local Olympic fraternity, along with advertising and promotional support, internship to selected athlete/s undergoing educational and training programmes, Toyota branded merchandise and other all-round support.

“Why we consider this a landmark initiative is because it is not customary for a national domestic arm to partner with the local Olympic organisation. Having taken this approach, Toyota TT has set an example. I would like to again invite the other top partners and locally-based entities to come in and be a part of our Athlete Preparation Fund,” Lewis declared.

On his company’s latest partnership, Shaffie lauded the TTOC’s hands-on development initiative and expressed great pleasure combining forces towards a patriotic objective of attaining Olympic glory.

“We have come together to support our nation’s efforts of medal accomplishments for the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. Our monetary and other investments into the TTOC is solely intended on helping the athletes develop and perform well at the Tokyo Games. We believe in the TTOC’s professionalism in making this happen,” said Shaffie. So far, the TTOC has aligned itself with bpTT, Guardian Group, Adidas, Lisa Communications, Scotiabank, National Lotteries Control Board and most recently, Toyota TT.

With more and more corporations coming on board, the TTOC president concluded, “We have been receiving great support from our sponsors. We have at this point, one more major announcement to make, that is in the hands of the major partner and is very significant.”

Source

Toyota Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TTTL) will invest at least $750,000 over the next five years into the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee’s (TTOC) #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund.

The local branch of the world renowned automotive company will also pair with the TTOC to provide internships in human resources, public relations, communications and sales for athletes, ongoing training and education and will be the official vehicle and mobility partner of the TTOC. Toyota is also expected to assist with certain TTOC promotional and advertising initiatives.

TTOC president Brian Lewis and TTTL marketing manager Sean Shaffie made the announcement of the five-year deal that will extend to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Olympic House on Abercromby Street yesterday. Toyota also presented the first cheque of $150,000 to #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund.

Lewis revealed that in March this year, the Japan-based Toyota Motor Corporation, the parent company signed an historic US$835 million agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to become a top partner with the IOC until 2024. The deal gives Toyota rights in Japan until the end of 2016 but then exclusive worldwide rights with the IOC starting from 2017.

Lewis described that the IOC usually return 90 % of the revenue generated back to sport development and NOCs across the globe. “What would usually happen is even though you may have a worldwide partner it doesn’t necessarily mean in the domestic market there is a sign-on market. It usually happens in bigger NOCs, not usually in smaller NOCs, so Toyota T&T signing on to be a partner complements, so to speak, what is happening on worldwide basis but is a landmark deal for the TTOC and we would like to congratulate and welcome them on board,” he said.

Besides the $150,000 contribution to the Fund, Toyota has also agreed to offer internships to suitable athletes selected by TTOC and to offer ongoing training and education opportunities.

“To be fair to our other corporate sponsors, there is an ongoing emphasis in all our negotiations now in terms of actioning our athlete-centred approach from a strategic perspective. That component is very important and I acknowledge Toyota for agreeing to that,” Lewis said.

Shaffie said TTTL was forward-thinking and thus decided to jump in on Olympic support 12 months ahead of their parent company.

“Starting today, we will be supporting our local Olympic contingent via the TTOC in readiness for the Olympic Games in 2020, not only because our parent company is an official Olympic sponsor but it is part of our burning desire to coordinate and contribute to Olympic success for our very own athletes,” Shaffie stated.

Lewis underlined the importance of brand recognition and value to wooing corporate sponsors. Saying that the TTOC benefited from association with the iconic brand of the IOC, he said national sporting organisations (NSOs) also had to improve their brand to attract commercial investment and to show they can reciprocate in the relationship.

“It is also about the ability of the brand you are associating with to drive sales,” Lewis commented, “I am saying this because we hear a lot from NSOs about why corporate T&T is not coming on board. Maybe it is because the brand needs to be looked at, maybe we are unable to convince corporate T&T that we can help create a win-win, not only help them meet their corporate social responsibility ambitions but to drive sales.”

Lewis added that NSOs needed to get accustomed to that reality as he recognised the timely intervention of TTTL’s investment following T&T’s record Pan Am Games medal haul of three gold, three silver and two bronze.

Source

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro conjures clear images of sun, samba and soccer. Organizers of the Olympics that start a year from now hope that's what people remember after the games — not images of polluted water, inefficient transportation and incomplete venues.

The Rio Olympics that start Aug. 5, 2016, follow last year's World Cup, which ended with mixed results.

A year of protests over lavish spending on soccer stadiums dissolved once the World Cup started. Fans from around the world embraced Brazil, and the stadiums looked ready enough on television even if many were still incomplete. Several have become underused white elephants" that cost local governments millions to maintain.

Now come the Summer Games, which are more complex and put Brazil under scrutiny again.

Instead of a one-month tournament with 730 players, the 16-day Olympics feature 28 sports, 300 events and 10,500 athletes; almost all in a metropolitan area of about 12 million people.

Construction got off to a slow start. And so did ticket sales.

"If you compare our numbers with the classic London numbers, you're going to see that we got off a little late," said Mario Andrada, spokesman for the Rio Olympics. He called Brazilians "last-minute people."

"But there's no doubt in our minds that we are going to sell out the tickets."

It will take years to know if the Olympics improved life for  Cariocas, as Rio residents are known. And if so, who profited the most from spending $12 billion in public and private money.

The head of the local organizing committee Carlos Nuzman says Rio will be the Olympic city with the "greatest transformation," surpassing Tokyo in 1964 and Barcelona in 1992.

An Olympics can change a city's reputation for good or bad.

Beijing showcased a rising power, but outsiders also glimpsed the control of an authoritarian state. Athens took a beating for preparations __ similar to Rio — and some of Greece's financial problems are linked Olympic spending.

At quick look at preparations with South America's first games opening Aug. 5, 2016.

___

WATER POLLUTION

The sailing and wind-surfing venue in Guanabara Bay, and the rowing and canoeing venue at the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, feature beautiful backdrops spoiled by sewage-filled water and floating debris. Rio officials promised cleaning the bay would be an Olympic legacy. But Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes has said that won't happen. A dramatic photo in the Rio newspaper O Globo recently showed trash wrapped around the tail of a dolphin in the bay.

Rio hopes to get by with stopgaps; a fleet of rubbish collection boats and barricades built where garbage gushes in from hilltop slums.

Some sailors competing in test events in Rio have called Guanabara Bay "an open sewer," and many have tried to minimize contact with the water to avoid illnesses.

"I don't think I would go swimming in that lagoon," said Matt Smith, head of the World Rowing Federation.

___

LEGACY PROJECTS

The new Olympic golf course and the athletes' village will become luxury real estate develpments after the Olympics. The units at the golf course start at about $2 million. The projects involve public and private money, with much of the income going to the private developers.

Two largely government-funded developments are a subway extension from central Rio into Barra da Tijuca — the heart of the games — and rapid transit bus lines that reach many corners of the city. The subway line extension faces a tight deadline.

"The subway line is going to be delivered just before the games, so of course we're worried about that," said Sidney Levy, CEO of the organizing committee.

Part of the Olympic Park will serve afterward as Brazil's Olympic training center. A section of the Olympic Park will become residential space. Some of that space has yet to be vacated with residents in a slum called Vila Autodromo holding out for better compensation.

___

CRIME

Street crime in Rio has spiked as drug traffickers in the city's slums — known as favelas — fight back against police and soldiers trying to "pacify" the neighborhoods. Muggings are increasing in the upscale south and west of the city, which will host most of the Olympics. A cyclist was recently stabbed to death at the Olympic rowing venue.

City officials are confident the problems won't leak over to the Olympics.

"The World Cup was organized without any major incidents, and we expect that this will be the same for the games," said Christophe Dubi, Olympic Games Executive Director.

___

INSPIRATION

President Dilma Rousseff, whose popularity has plunged as the country slides in recession, said recently she will be more involved in Olympic preparations. She's hoping the Olympics will improve the country's mood, and boost her poll numbers.

Levy says the games should inspire Brazilians, and they could use some.

State-run oil company Petrobras lost $2.1 billion in a kickback scheme that saw firm executives take bribes for awarding inflated contracts. In June, police arrested the CEOs of two of Brazil's largest construction companies, including the head of Odebrecht, which helped build many World Cup and Olympic venues.

Levy, the CEO, has repeated often that Rio is running clean games devoid of corruption.

___

CONSTRUCTION

A last-minute rush seems inevitable, and late work is sure to drive up costs.

Levy seems relaxed, particularly with the two biggest stadiums — both soccer facilities — already constructed.

"We're not building anything big," he said. "We're not building a cathedral."

A study by Said Business School at Oxford University of Olympic Games since 1960 showed each one had cost overruns.

"No other type of megaproject is this consistent regarding cost overrun," authors Bent Flyvberg and Allison Stewart wrote.  "Other project types are typically on budget from time to time, but not the Olympics."

Source

Sebastian Coe's campaign to become the next President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has received a major boost after he was promised the backing of the Athletic Association Small States of Europe (AASSE), a group of countries who between them have nine votes, and Ireland.

Jonas Egilsson, President of the AASSE, revealed that the group which comprises Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino had decided to back Britain's double Olympic gold medallist following his promise to give an Olympic Athletics Dividend of at least $100,000 (£64,000/€91,000) over four years to all 214 members of the IAAF.

Athletics Ireland, meanwhile, has promised to support Coe because of the "outstanding job" he did as chairman of London 2012.

“Seb Coe has all the characteristics, experience and know-how the sport needs in a new leader and we are very happy to confirm in an open manner that we will be voting for him," Ciarán Ó Catháin, President of Athletics Ireland, said.

"He did an outstanding job as chairman of the London 2012 Olympic Games and has proven time and time again he has the morals, vision, leadership skills and passion to lead athletics into a successful future."

More Federations are expected to publicly back Coe's bid later this week.

“The Board of Athletics Ireland completely support my view on this, and having discussed this with many other Federations throughout Europe and the rest of the world, we are confident he will be elected President in four weeks’ time," said Ó Catháin.

“I have discussed his plans extensively with Seb and they mirror the vision of Athletics Ireland in trying to grow the popularity of the sport and bring athletics to new audiences."

Some consolation for Coe's rival, Ukraine's Sergey Bubka, was that Egilsson did promise to vote for him as vice-president.

"Sergey Bubka is an experienced administrator and servant of athletics and we will be voting for him to be vice-president to ensure that these two giants of athletics continue to serve our sport in the years ahead," Egilsson said.

The announcement from the AASSE and Ireland follows earlier pledges from Australia, Germany, Jamaica and New Zealand to back Coe in the election at the IAAF Congress in Beijing on August 19.

Coe is widely seen as the favourite to succeed Senegal's Lamine Diack, who is stepping down after 16 years in the role.

Under the IAAF's one country, one vote system it means the backing of the AASSE and Ireland is just as important as getting the support of leading athletics powers like the United States and Russia.

Coe has already called for a greater focus on creating and supporting strong regional competitions to enhance Member Federation development and create new opportunities for athletes.

“It is especially important for smaller nations and their athletes to have more opportunities to compete at international events given that they are often not able to field large teams at the Olympic Games or IAAF World Championships," he said.

"By creating strong regional championships that cater for both major and developing athletics nations, you provide athletes with international level experience and a clear route map for top level competition outside of their own borders.

"This is a win-win for the athletes, their Member Federations and for growing interest in the sport in emerging nations.

“I very much endorse the recent news by European Athletics which is to provide support for a new competition to be organised by the Small States of Europe in the Olympic year, starting in 2016."

Source