Javelin bronze medallist at the Rio 2016 Olympics Keshorn Walcott copped the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) Sportsman of the Year crown, at the 19th annual awards ceremony on Thursday night at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain.
Walcott, 23, who grabbed gold at the London 2012 Olympics was this country’s only medalist at the Rio Olympics. The Sportswoman of the Year title went to Michelle Lee-Ahye, 24, who had a personal best of 22.25 seconds in the 200 metres event at the Rio Olympics.
The Sports Personality of the Year title went to para-olympian Akeem Stewart. Stewart, 24, who is from Tobago, broke his own world record twice en route to Rio 2016 Paralympic gold in the javelin event.
However, despite his performance at the People’s Choice Award which is determined by online voting went to swimmer Dylan Carter.
Cyclist Nicholas Paul copped the Junior Sportsman of the Year award after his gold medal performance in the match sprint event of the Junior Panam Cycling Championships earlier in the year. And sprinter Kalifa St Fort took away the Junior Sportswoman of the year honours.
Delivering the feature address at the gala affair was former Strike Squad goalkeeper, Shaka Hislop, who gave his impressions of what he experienced in Rio as an anchor for ESPN. He started of by saying that: “Football is my life but it does not define me!” Hislop had everyone glued to his delivery as he relayed how boxer Nigel Paul left the biggest impression on him after the event.
“Nigel Paul was a reluctant Olympian, he started off boxing to lose weight and ended up at the Olympics.” Paul was knocked out in the first minute of his event, but Hislop said he still respected him because of the fact that he went out there to represent his country, looking to bring glory to the people.
On that note Hislop said that too many people took the social media which is easy to go onto and bash the athletes. “I remembered when the president of the Olympic Association Brian Lewis said that there was an ambition to get 10 gold medals by 2024. He was ridiculed for his comment and I remember sending him a quote from an Indian businessman which stated that ‘when people laugh at your goal, it is too small’. I sat in an uber and was going through Twitter after the Olympics and looking on at the criticisms from people in T&T over the performance of our athletes and responded by saying let your level of criticism be in line with your level of contribution.”
Also giving the public a tongue lashing over their criticisms of the nation’s athletes was President of the Republic Anthony Carmona. Giving his address as Patron of the TTOC he said, “There is an insatiable appetite for success from the people of T&T. They must understand that sport is not only about winning and they must get of this attitude of luxuriating in the great times alone. They need to support the athletes even in bad times because sport is something that would show you the best and worst of times.
“To the athletes I must say to you that when you go out there to compete, remain focus and show that thirst for success and let no competitor get in the way of what you can achieve.”
Lewis in his address reiterated the fact that the ambition is 10 gold medals by 2024 and said that his movement has done a lot to develop athletes and put T&T on the map despite the fact that the medals have not been coming in large amounts.
He said that there was a lot being done by the TTOC to assist the athletes and they are even lobbying for HDC houses for them. He seemed to have taken a dig at the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) when he stated, “We at the TTOC are making sure that we take care of people’s children when they are put under our care and not allowing things like sexaul assaut to take place. As a responsible national body we are providing a safe environment for our youths which should be done by all national sporting bodies.”
