Mark the day - Thursday 8th March, 2012 - as the day Trinidad & Tobago saw its youngest ever Pan American Champion in Quincy Alexander. At the age of 18 years and 70 days, the Arima native has written his name into the epilogues of T&T’s sporting history.
It was not as simple as he may have wanted it to be and may have been a bit fortuitous since Quincy got a second shot at the medal. That is to say, the 1 kilometre time trial began the night of the 7th, which saw Quincy clock a time of 1:06.133 to be provisionally second behind Kevin Mansker (USA). However, almost 5 minutes after his effort, the heavens opened up and washed out the remainder of the night’s program.
By regulations, all cyclists competing in the 1 Kilometre Time Trial have to attempt their ride under similar conditions, hence Quincy would have to re-attempt his ride on the morning of the 8th March in much windier conditions.
That however, would not deter the youngster as he stopped the time at 1:06.165 (3/100th of a second slower than his time the previous night). To put it into perspective, Kevin Mansker (USA) clocked a time of 1:05.570 the previous night but could only muster a 1:06.635 the next morning – an entire second lost; proving how exhausting and tedious the Kilometre Time Trial can be.
At the end of it all, Quincy had to wait until Carlos Linares (VEN) to ride; the one man who had the potential to better his time. The Beacon sponsored rider’s time was way to superior and too much of an uphill task for the Venezuelan as he registered 1:07.424, giving Quincy Alexander his first ever Elite Pan American title in his first ever International Elite competition since becoming a senior some 70 days ago.
He follows in the footsteps of Gene Samuel (1984 & 1994) and Christopher Sellier (2010) who captured gold at the same event. This mean that Trinidad & Tobago's 2-man team leaves Mar del Plata with 2 Gold Medals; a feat that has never been accomplished before.
Congratulations to Quincy Alexander, his management, coaching staff and support system that are without fail at every one of Quincy’s cycling events. The future is extremely bright for Trinidad and Tobago cycling and we are eager to see what it holds.
As well, job well done by the contingent at Mar del Plata; Rowena Williams (manager), Roger Smart (mechanic), Robert Farrier (Quincy Alexander’s manager) and Des Dickie (Quincy Alexander’s coach).
Final Results:
1st - Quincy Alexander (TRI)- 1.06.165
2nd - Kevin Mansker (USA) - 1.06.635
3rd Matia Gatto (ARG) - 1.07.261
4th Davi Romeo (BRA) - 1.07.415
5th Carlos Linares (VEN) - 1.07.424
6th Dieferson Borges (BRA)- 1.08.914
7th Jose Vega (CRC) - 1.13.100
8th Jason Vega (CRC) - 1.14.425