Trinidad and Tobago will be without three of their more accomplished sprint stars at the 2011 Pan Am Games scheduled for October 14-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Unsurprisingly, World Championship bronze medallist Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson and 2007 Pan Am Junior 100m champ Keston Bledman have all opted to take a much-needed rest after a lengthy European season.
Trevor James, public relations officer, National Association of Athletic Administration (NAAA), is not worried by the absence of the trio and believes it will be a level playing field.
“We’re not going to see Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell running for Jamaica or Tyson Gay for the United States. I don’t even think Kirani James of Grenada will be there so it is going to be even. It is about which country has more depth,” he said.
James noted that it is expected that the athletes take a bit of rest before gearing up for the Olympics which gets underway next year in London.
“It’s late in the year. We’re not pressuring anyone to say ‘you have to go’. Everyone has their own goals. These are the challenges we face in the sport,” he noted. He explained that it is an opportunity for some of the promising talents to deliver on the international stage.
The NAAA PRO says he is looking closely at the performances of Moriba Morrain in the half-lap event and Darryl Brown and Emmanuel Callender in the 100m sprint.
Although omitted from the 2011 World Championships 4x100m relay team, James says he does not believe Brown, a former World Junior champion, is washed up.
“I don’t think he is past his best. He’s had some injuries and he has competed this year and is still going to compete. It’s important for him to keep running and finish off the year positively. He’s had a decent season coming off where he has been in terms of injuries and he is staying healthy. He has lost some of that mass and that is good,” James pointed out.
He argued that it has been difficult for Brown to get back to peak form as he has not been able to take part in meets consistently due to his hiatus from the sport.
Reflecting on Baptiste’s performance on the European circuit, James praised the Tobago runner and believes she should add the 200m to her repertoire.
“Kelly had a great season. I’m surprised she is not running the 200m more. Look at (Jamaican) Yohan Blake. He is a 100m sprinter and ran the second fastest ever 200m time. A lot of our sprinters need to run the 200m. Callender is running 10.20 in the 100m and running 21plus in the 200m. The maths don’t add up. He needs to work on this because something is wrong,” James complained.
-Stephon Nicholas
Source: www.newsday.co.tt