President of the T&T Olympic Committee, Diane Henderson, was high in praise for the country’s athletes at the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
The Games concluded Sunday with the T&T contingent winning seven medals overall, namely, three silver and four bronze. Australia topped the medal tally with a total of 171 medals (70 gold, 45 silver, and 56 bronze), with England a distant second at 110 medals (29 gold, 45 silver, and 36 bronze), and Canada third overall with a total of 62 medals (19 gold, 20 silver, and 23 bronze).
Regional track and field powerhouse Jamaica finished eighth overall (10 gold, four silver, and five bronze), while T&T placed 26th. T&T’s performances over the two-week competition saw Jereem Richards securing the silver medal in the final of the men’s 400 metres, after being narrowly held off by Samuel Ogazi of Nigeria.
It was one of three silver medals won by the team. The others comprised an equally dogged sprint by Shaniqua Bascombe in the women’s 200 metres final, and cyclist Nicholas Paul, who fell just short of Australia’s Leigh Hoffman in the final of the men’s sprint.
Meanwhile, the four bronze medals came from Akeem Stewart in the men’s discus throw (F42-4/F61-64 Para-athletics); the women’s 4x100m relay team of Michelle-Lee Ahye, Shaniqua Bascombe, Reese Webster, and Leah Bertrand; the men’s track cycling team sprint trio of Nicholas Paul, Zion Pulido, and Njisane Phillip; and boxer Nigel Paul in the men’s super heavyweight (+90kg) division.
On yesterday’s final day of competition cyclist Paul was seventh in the men’s 1,000 kilometre time trial. The race was won by Hoffman.
Another cyclist Jadian Neaves also did not have much to be happy about, after he failed to be among the qualifiers in the men’s 40-kilometre points race qualifiers. He just missed the mark in heat one of the qualifiers by finishing 10th while the top nine riders advanced.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle Wood just missed out on a bronze medal in the women’s 78kg division contest. Wood, a former Olympian, was beaten in her quarterfinal contest by Richelle Anita Mbella Soppi of Cameroon, but she later rebounded from the repechage where she earned the right for a bronze medal contest when she defeated Noeline Koro Essohanam. However fortune did not follow her and she eventually lost to Avaro Gnacadja of Gabon for the bronze medal. Wood eventually finished fifth overall.
When asked if she had expected more medals, Henderson said, “No, I don’t put numbers on competition. I mean, the level of competition, the overall performances, I think the performances were good. They were very good performances.”
Kester Lendor, chairman of the Sport Company of T&T, also chimed in with compliments for the team.
”Well, mostly the track athletes showed up there,” Lendor said. “You have to give kudos to Jereem Richards, who continues to soldier on. I think we did well. If we try to compare ourselves to other countries, then we would probably not have that same type of view. But I think for a small nation, I think we did well. Again, I want to highlight the performances from Jereem Richard. He had a fantastic race; even though he didn’t get the gold medal, he was very happy with himself.”
He noted further, “He has gone lower than that. We know that in a different situation, probably in a warmer climate, he could go faster. And Shaniqua, I think that race was a personal best for her. She’s a young athlete too, so chances are, hopefully, she will continue to grow and continue to get better at the 200. Nicholas Paul as well. I think it was understood that Nicholas Paul would have done well. He has been dominating these sprints on a global level, so I’m not sure that it was such a big surprise for the country that he won the medal. It was just a question of which medal he would get.”
Lendor said the focus now will be to hold conversations with the various National Governing Bodies (NGBs) on how to produce the next Pauls, Richards, and Bascombes.
T&T medals
Silver
Jereem Richards (men’s 400m)- Athletics
Shaniqua Bascombe (women’s 200m) – Athletics
Nicholas Paul (men’s match sprint) – Cycling
Bronze
Akeem Stewart (men’s discus throw F42-4/F61-64) – Para-athletics
Women’s 4x100m relay (Michelle-Lee Ahye, Shaniqua Bascombe, Reese Webster, Leah Bertrand) – Athletics
Cycling – Men’s team sprint (Nicholas Paul, Zion Pulido, Njisane Phillip) – Cycling
Nigel Paul (men’s super heaveyweight +90kg) – Boxing
