Minister of Sport, Anil Roberts, is bubbling with excitement at the prospects of this country’s sprinters at the London Olympics following quite a number of encouraging performances at the NAAA National Championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, on the weekend.
Keston Bledman showed why their has been a buzz surrounding his name with a blistering 9.86 finish to claimed the Men’s 100m gold from 2011 champion and Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson (9.96) who was second while Rondel Sorrillo crossed third in a personal best time of 10.03.
The Women’s 100m title was retained unsurprisingly by Tobago’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste who stormed past the finish line in a scintillating 10.98 performance. Semoy Hackett followed in 11.14 while Kai Selvon rounded out the top three in 11.24.
Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Roberts revealed that he is expecting a lot from Bledman at the Olympics and is harbouring hopes that he can upset the more fancied Jamaicans and Americans.
“Once you’re running 9.86 you can get a medal. He’s been very consistent with a few sub-10 performances and is looking comfortable. The track at the Hasely Crawford Stadium has been producing some incredible times and the athletes like it.
“He looks more relaxed now and his technique looks great. I was watching the US Olympic trials over the weekend and it was only Justin Gatlin (9.80) and Tyson Gay (9.86) who ran that kind of time. The key for him is staying calm and managing the early rounds at the Olympics,” Roberts explained.
The Minister of Sport, was also pleased to see three-time national champion Thompson dip below 10 seconds for the first time since the 2011 NAAA Championships.
“It’s good to see Thompson coming back and running 9.96. He has been battling some injuries but I look forward to him getting more healthy and he will be in the mix,” the ex-national swimmer continued.
Meanwhile, Roberts is hitching his wagon to World bronze medallist, Baptiste, and believes she will definitely be in contention for a medal.
The Minister also believes the 25-year-old can play a pivotal role in the 4x100m relay team where this country has never come close to a medal at an Olympics.
“Kelly-Ann has been looking extremely confident. The cadre of girls running just about 11 seconds has been encouraging. We never had the luxury to rest Kelly-Ann for the relay preliminaries but I think we can do that now and conserve her for the final where she will have to run the anchor against USA’s Carmelita Jeter and (Shelly-Ann) Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica,” he remarked.
Roberts, the consultant and ex-coach of Olympian George Bovell III, noted that he was elated to see the strides made by Baptiste over the years where she is now universally regarded as an elite sprinter.
-Stephon Nicholas
Source: www.newsday.co.tt