T&T sprinter Jereem Richards just won bronze at the London Wanda Diamond League which was held prior to the Olympics! He clocked a Personal Best time of 44.18 seconds
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Rodney Adolphus WILKES Rodney Wilkes was Trinidad’s first Olympic medal winner, in 1948, and with his silver and bronze medals in weightlifting from the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, he is still considered the greatest weightlifter ever from T&T . Wilkes was nicknamed the “Mighty Midget” or “Midget Atom” for his strength feats in the featherweight division. In 1951 Wilkes added another gold, winning at the Pan American Games, before adding an Olympic bronze medal in 1952 at Helsinki. In 1954 he won the featherweight title at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games, and would win bronze at that tournament in 1958 in Cardiff, Wales. Wilkes was injured in 1955 and unable to defend his title at the Pan Americans and he just missed the podium at his third Olympics in Melbourne, placing fourth. He continued competing through 1960 but was not chosen for the West Indies Federation team for the Rome Olympics and then retired. Rodney Adolphus Wilkes was born on March 11th 1925 and grew up in San Fernando. He began weightlifting as a teenager and was primarily self-trained. In 1942, at age 17, Wilkes set three local records in the featherweight class and continued to be undefeated in this category for years. His achievements earned him a space in our National Sports Hall of Fame He was also given the Hummingbird Medal, a state decoration in Trinidad and Tobago awarded for loyal and devoted service beneficial to the state. On Harris Promenade , San Fernando where he was born a bust of Rodney Wilkes was erected as a tribute to our first ever Olympic Winner in weightlifting. Credit to following sources Caribbean Memory Project. https://olympics.com › athletes › rodney-adolphus-wilkes http://caribbean.halloffame.tripod.com › Rodney_Wilkes Pan American Track Cycling Championships 2024 men's keirin gold medallist Nicholas Paul, centre, is flanked by silver medallist and reigning keirin world champion Kevin Quintero, left, and bronze medallist Kwesi Browne. Photo courtesy TT Cycling Federation. ACE Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Nicholas Paul earned his country's first gold medal at the 2024 Pan American Track Cycling Championships at the Velo Sports Centre in Los Angeles, California on April 4, competing in the men's keirin event.
On April 3, Trinidad and Tobago got their first medal of the games when endurance rider Akil Campbell grabbed bronze medal in the men's scratch final. Campbell's compatriots added to Trinidad and Tobago's medal tally on the following day of competition as Paul topped the six-man keirin field, with fellow TT cyclist Kwesi Browne notching third spot to secure his team's third medal at the games. Paul took a tactical approach as he started from the back of the pack, before using his world-record sprint speed to power past the field to claim gold. Colombian and reigning world keirin champ Kevin Quintero took the silver medal, while his countryman David Ortega was just pipped to a podium finish by Browne. In the women's elimination race final on April 4, TT's Alexi Ramirez finished eighth, with USA's Jennifer Valente taking the gold medal. Colombia's Juliana Londono and Mexico's Yareli Acevedo placed second and third respectively. In the women's sprint event, 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games medallist Makaira Wallace advanced to the 1/8 finals and ended the competition in 13th place, while Phoebe Sandy narrowly missed out on a spot in the 1/8 finals and finished 17th overall. In the early session on April 5, Tariq Woods will take to the track in men's pursuit qualifying, Ramirez will contest the women's scratch omnium and the trio of Browne, Paul and Quincy will face the starter in men's sprint qualifying. (Source: Newsday, April 5, 2024) By the late Angelo Bissessarsingh. The first organized cricket club in the island was formed in the late 1870s by a group of English colonial officers and planters. The Sovereign Cricket club membership eventually formed what was the genesis of the still-existing Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) in 1891. Five years later, the QPCC acquired the lease on lands which were to become the Queen’s Park Oval which is today one of the best cricketing arenas in the Caribbean. The ethnic composition of the QPCC came under fire in the 1890s. This was an era characterized by anti-colonial sentiments and heightened by the presence of several influential and vocal coloured men who spoke out against old and racially biased stratification of colonial society. One of these agitators in particular, Edgar Maresse-Smith, was pivotal in having Lebrun Constantine accepted into the QPCC as its first non-white member. Lebrun Constantine was born in Maraval , a district barely a mile outside Trinidad’s capital city of Port-of-Spain on a cocoa plantation where his parents were workers. He worked on a cocoa estate as well in his youth and played cricket in matches held at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain where he quickly established a reputation for being a good batsman. At that time Cricket in Trinidad had not as yet taken on an organized front although one of the most distinguished icons of the game was born in the island. Lebrun made history as well as being a regular on the Trinidad cricket team from as early as 1893-94. Inter-colonial cricket matches between Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica were then popular and Lebrun was a player in almost every meet after 1899. The first three tournaments were fielded with all-white teams. In 1894, Robert Slade made the first tour of the West Indies with an English cricket team, followed two years later by a team under Arthur Priestly. In the latter tour, the English side came up against an all-West Indian contingent that included Lebrun Constantine and lost. In 1900, R.S.A Warner (brother of Sir Pelham Warner) led the first West Indian touring team to England. Although not accorded first class status, the West Indians played well. Once again, the lineup included Lebrun Constantine as a batsman and wicket keeper. His batting averages were second in the West Indies team, being 30 for 610. During this tour as well, Constantine made history by becoming the first West Indian to score a century (113 runs) against an English team. In 1906 another tour to England took place of which he was a member. This time he managed to be third in the batting averages. Of his performance in the 1906 tour, the following commentary was given; "another of the brigade who proved himself very strong on the left side and can bat with power. He fields in the slips and can bowl right arm medium pace if required". Aside from his prowess as a batsman and wicket keeper, Lebrun was also a fielder of note with his energy and accuracy coming in for high praise. Lebrun Constantine’s last match of his professional career was in a 1923 inter-colonial match against Barbados. This was a landmark event since also in the batting lineup was Lebrun’s son – Learie Nicholas Constantine (21 September 1901 – 1 July 1971) - who rose to become one of the greatest cricketers in history and was later knighted and in 1969 became the first black peer in the House of Lords as Baron Constantine of Maraval in Trinidad and the County Palatine in Lancaster. Another son, Elias (22 May 1912 – 22 May 2003) also became a cricketer of renown, and who played for the West Indies in test matches in the 1930s. Despite his pioneering career he was largely low-profile in his own homeland. Whilst touring with the first West Indian teams, he supported himself as a coachman in the employ of Madame Poleska de Boissiere. Lebrun occasionally made public statements on cricket in the local press but remained mostly private until he died in 1942. (Source: Angelo Bissessarsingh's Vitrual Museum of Trinidad & Tobago, September 21, 2023) Saana Frederick celebrates winning gold in the Girls U20 200m sprint at the 2023 CARIFTA Games on Monday night in Nassau, Bahamas. (NAAATT Media) rinidad and Tobago won eight medals during the final session of competition in the 2023 CARIFTA Games on Monday night at Nassau, Bahamas. Nathan Cumberbatch (Boys U20 800m), Saana Frederick (Girls U20 200m), and Tafari Waldron (Boys Open 5,000m) won gold medals during the final session bringing T&T's tally of gold medals to four. Brandon Leacock (Boys U17 800m) and Stefan Camejo (Boys U20 800m) took bronze medals before Trinidad and Tobago took three more medals in the 4x400m relays. T&T's Boys U17 4x400m relay team took bronze before the Girls U20 and Boys U20 teams took silver medals in their events. During the morning session, Keneisha Shelbourne won a bronze medal in the Girls U20 High Jump, while Janae De Gannes took a silver medal in the Girls U20 Long Jump. Trinidad and Tobago ended the 50th edition of the CARIFTA Games with 20 medals (four gold, eight silver medals, and eight bronze medals). Stefan Camejo (left) and Nathan Cumberbatch won bronze and gold medals respectively in the Boys U20 800m at the 2023 Carifta Games on Monday night in Nassau, Bahamas. (NAAATT media) Carifta Games 2023 - Medals
Day 1 Immani Matthew - Gold - Boys U17 Long Jump - 7.13m Dorian Charles - Silver - Men's Javelin U20 - 61.58m Peyton Winter - Silver - Girls U17 Shot Put - 13.66m Sanaa Frederick - Bronze - Girls U20 100m - 11.65s Alexee Henry - Bronze - Girls U17 100m Jaidi James - Bronze - Boys U20 High Jump Day 2 Kaleb Campbell - Silver - Boys U17 High Jump - 1.87m Silver - Girls U17 4x100m relay - 46.18s Silver - Girls U20 4x100m relay - 40.83s Bronze - Boys U20 4x100m relay - 39.78s Day 3 Nathan Cumberbatch - Gold - Boys U20 800m Saana Frederick - Gold - Girls U20 200m Tafari Waldron - Gold - Boys Open 5000m Janae De Gannes - Silver - Girls U20 Long Jump - 5.93m Girls U20 4x400m - Silver Boys U20 4x400m - Silver Brandon Leacock - Bronze - Boys U17 800m Keneisha Shelbourne - Bronze - Girls U20 High Jump - 1.75m Stefan Camejo - Bronze - Boys U20 800m Boys U17 4x400m - Bronze this country’s first World boxing champion!!! Claude is now 74 years old! Claude Noel (born 25 July 1948) in Roxborough, Tobago) is a former Tobagonian professional boxer. Former 3 time Commonwealth and World Champion Claude Noel, 31-10, 15 KO’s, had a career span from 1973-1984. His rise from selling fruit as a teenager to making waves in boxing is as simple and as recognizable as any outside of the Caribbean. Noel’s fighting career began when at school he seemed to always be fighting with other boys. Because he was spotted at an early age, he was advised to get some lessons – he did and then channeled that aggression in a more positive direction. Noel shot to world acclaim when he defeated Mexican Elgato Gonzales in 1982 for the World Title in the lightweight division. Following his victory, he was later honoured with the Chaconia Gold Medal and had a highway named after him in his native Tobago. Noel now resides in Trinidad. He has been undergoing severe health challenges but is continuing to keep the fight. For his last birthday, a post was dedicated to Claude celebrating his birthday on August 22nd, 1949 but was corrected by family as being July 25, 1948. The latter date is widely published online as the boxers birth date. (Source: Vitrual Museum of TT, July 26, 2022) RECOGNITION TIME: From left are Emmanuel Callender (Olympic gold medallist), Jamiah Harley (national swimmer), Diane Henderson (Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee president), Richard Thompson Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Richard Thompson and his 4x100 relay team-mates will receive a shared medal bonus of US$40,000 from the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) for ‘outstanding performance, effort and integrity’ after waiting 14 years to collect their upgraded gold medal from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Thompson, Keston Bledman, Emmanuel Callender, Marc Burns and Aaron Armstrong are set to receive a total sum of US$40,000. TTOC president Diane Henderson also announced that the TTOC and the T&T Commonwealth Games Association (TTCGA) will distribute medal bonuses to national and elite level athletes who achieved podium status during the Pan Am Juniors and the inaugural Caribbean Games in Guadeloupe. “The long-overdue reward would be given to the relay team for their outstanding performance, effort and integrity after waiting 14 years to receive the upgrade,” Henderson said during a virtual media conference yesterday. “It takes a great amount of dedication, sacrifice and discipline in the pursuit of excellence. The TTOC and the TTCGA prides itself in being athlete-centred. This is to ensure the athlete has the necessary support, financial and otherwise to achieve and sustain world-level performance that is required to achieve greatness,” Henderson continued. She explained that the medal bonus programme was introduced in 2015 by former TTOC president Brian Lewis, with the initial being to reward individuals and team sports who achieve podium status at multi-sport games. “The TTCO would like to provide medal bonus of US$40,000 to the recipients of that gold medal, in light of their performance and the time they had to wait, 14 years. The reward and recognition for such a performance is...to signify that effort and integrity that they displayed and the pride they brought to our nation,” Henderson added. Thompson expressed his gratitude to the TTOC for showing appreciation for the achievement of the relay team. “Over the years, there are so much of sacrifices that are made, physically, emotionally, mentally and also financially by us athletes each year. When we represent with pride and honour, we also represent with integrity,” said Thompson. “At no point in time have we sold ourselves, our families or Trinidad and Tobago short. The fact that we are being acknowledged today, I think, speaks volumes of how the TTOC operates and it should encourage other organisations and corporate Trinidad as well to become more involved,” he added. Meanwhile, Bledman expressed appreciation to the TTOC for recognising the team’s effort. Also collecting bonuses yesterday were Kelsey Daniel and Tariq Horsford. All the athletes who medalled in the Guadeloupe 2022 Caribbean Games are also set to receive bonuses for their achievements. Henderson noted that the sum of the bonuses will ensure compliance with NCAA rules and regulations, in order to support athletes who are currently on scholarships in universities outside of T&T. MEDAL BONUS AWARDEES: Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games Athletics: Men’s 4x100m Relay Team (Medal Upgrade) Keston Bledman Marc Burns Richard Thompson Emmanuel Callender Aaron Armstrong 2021 Cali Panam Sports Junior Games Athletics: Kelsey Daniel (Silver, Men’s Long Jump) Tariq Horsford (Bronze, Men’s Javelin Throw) Guadeloupe 2022 Caribbean Games Athletics: 2 Gold (4x100m Women, Kion Benjamin Men’s 100m) 2 Silver (100m Women, Men’s 4x100m) 1 Bronze (Women’s 100m) Swimming: Gold: 3 Nikoli Blackman – Men’s 100m, 50m Freestyle Ornella Walker – Women’s 100m Freestyle Silver: 5 Ornella Walker - Women’s 100m Backstroke Nikoli Blackman – Men’s 200m Freestyle Mark-Anthony Beckles – Men’s 100m Butterfly Jahmia Harley – Women’s 50m Backstroke 4X100m Medley Relay Bronze: 3 Jahmia Harley – Women’s 100m Backstroke Aqeel Joseph – Men’s 50m freestyle Mark-Anthony Beckles – Men’s 50m Butterfly Men’s Futsal Team (Bronze Medal) Che Benny Darnell Hospedales Delaney Zamore Elijah Shade Isaiah Williams Kalev Keil Omri Baird Zion Mc Leod Josiah Joseph (Source: Daily Express, July 19, 2022) It's been said that you can find a Trini everywhere, and where a carnival is, a Trinbagonian is known to be behind it. This is the case with the new carnival being born in South East Asia, Indonesia, on the island of Bali. Caribbean Vybez founder Ethan Auguste who first went to Bali in 2019, is organising this first Trinidad and Tobago-themed Carnival in the S.E.A. region. Auguste is no stranger to promoting his culture. He is also known as the pioneer who brought Caribbean culture to the United Arab Emirates back in 2009 and now in Bali. Although Reggae is no stranger to these parts, Trinidad and Tobago's Soca and Carnival is, and this was the mission of Caribbean Vybez when deciding to make Bali its new home three years ago. Bali Carnival planned from September 23 to 28, is already making waves. The event, which takes place at the new Renaissance Bali Hotel, Nusa Dua, will start with a welcome event and continue to the hotel's Atomic 13 pool venue for Glow, the all-white affair on day one. Carnival goers will then don their costumes designed by Trinidadian Aaron Schneider and produced in Bali. Revellers will take to the road for the first Carnival inspired by The Greatest Show on Earth - Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, which leads into a las lap celebration scheduled to go till late in true Trini style.
Bali Colour Festival which will run on the following day will host a special J'ouvert on the beach, followed by a Caribbean Soul Concert with a lineup of top Caribbean talents on the last day of the main activities. "It's been one of my dreams over the years to produce a carnival, and coming to Bali, I saw the potential to create not just a carnival event but an experience many other carnivals don't have in a destination people have on their bucket list. Bali Carnival would hugely boost Bali's tourism during their slower period," Auguste said via a press release. With destination events becoming popular, Auguste is confident that Bali Carnival will secure its place in the carnival calendar, one that all carnival fans would not want to miss. From steelpan to the cuisine of T&T and the Caribbean, this carnival experience promises to be a diverse and captivating affair. To join the inaugural Carnival, visit their website www.balicarnival.com and follow their Instagram @balicarnvial for updates and packages. (Source: The Loop, July 12, 2022) Congratulations to the Trinidad and Tobago 2008 Olympic 4x100m CHAMPIONS!
Earlier today, the International Olympic Committee hosted the Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne Switzerland. Trinidad and Tobago originally finished the race in 2nd place behind Jamaica, however, due a doping violation by one of the Jamaican athletes T&T was promoted to the Gold Medal position. The team in running order: Keston Bledman Marc Burns Emmanuel Callender Richard Thompson Aaron Armstrong ran the preliminary round in place of Emmanuel Callender! SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Stefan Stuven will represent Trinidad and Tobago for the first time at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Mussanah Sports City, Oman, from December 11-18.
Stuven will compete in the men’s laser radial class. He was invited to participate as part of World Sailing’s Emerging Nations Programme (ENP). The ENP aims to increase the number of sailors and member nation assemblies participating at the Youth Worlds, with a goal to narrow the performance gap and promote worldwide competition. Stuven, alongside a small fleet of five other TT sailors, is currently being coached by TT’s three-time Olympic sailor Andrew Lewis twice per week. He has, however, opted to do additional training sessions by himself to ensure he stays in good form. Initially, the ENP offers elite training by specialist coaches to potential sailors through an intense, hands-on five-day clinic. Young sailors are usually flown out to sailing locations and taught the fundamentals and advanced techniques by the sport’s top-flight coaches. Owing to the pandemic, this year’s edition was done virtually and Stuven, alongside a host of young sailors from emerging sailing countries, took part. He was then invited to another edition, this time an in-person session, in Oman from December 10. After working out travel and other logistics with World Sailing, the TT Olympic Committee, TT Sailing Association (TTSA) and his parents, Stuven accepted the offer to go to Oman for the ENP and then make his international competitive debut at Youth Worlds. “I feel quite excited for the experience because I’ve never competed at this level. Because of covid19, World Sailing held their ENP online this time. We had meetings once a month and the coaches would talk and explain the theories of sailing and we would interact and ask questions. “That’s happened for over a few months. Coming to the end of it, the organiser of it asked me if I wanted to come and do an in-person ENP. I thought it was quite far to travel and there were a lot of technical challenges like that to overcome. But it’s been confirmed,” he said. After the session, Stuven heads right into the world regatta. His father Andreas, has always been an avid yachtsman. The St Mary’s College graduate, however, got into sailing at age seven after attending a holiday sailing camp hosted by the TTSA in 2011. Since his introduction, he’s never stopped sailing. Stuven trains in Chaguaramas and previously worked with TTSA head instructor Stephen Phillip. Under his new coach Lewis, he is impressed by the Olympian’s work ethic. “He’s (Lewis) very intense in his training. He trains at a very high level and tries to push everyone in the field. It’s not just me, it’s a fleet of us. He’s trying to get everybody to the highest possible level of training. “He teaches us how to race, how to think tactically, being aware of our surroundings and not thinking only of what’s inside the boat but also outside, looking at the conditions, observing what everybody else is doing on the course and think ahead. “It’s a very good experience to be dealing with a high-level person and three-time Olympian,” he added. Stuven, however, has never competed in laser radial, not even at a national level. He started training for this class just before the pandemic hit in March last year. He said it’s been very hard to train with the fluctuating restrictions and beaches being closed. He was grateful though that the TTSA secured an exemption for him to train at one location. Looking ahead, he said, “I want to continue sailing after Youth Worlds. They’ve already set the date for Youth Worlds 2022 in July and I want to try to go again and maybe either get into college sailing in Canada and obviously the Olympics. “Right now, I’m taking a year off to do some subjects I never took, like A’ Level Chemistry. After I get that, I’d like to go to a university where there’s a proper sailing programme, whether it be at UWI, Canada or even Germany.” For the Youth Sailing World Championships, Mussanah is renowned for its high-quality sailing conditions all year round. During December, temperatures are expected to be around 24°C on average, while the average wind strength is expected to be around 10-17 knots. The 2020 Youth Worlds were scheduled to be held in Salvador, Brazil, in December 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. (Source: Newsday, November 1, 2021) |
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