A day after an extraordinary silver-medal performance by sprint sensation Shaniqua Bascombe in the women’s 200 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, Jereem “The Dream” Richards delivered a dream duplication to secure another silver medal for Trinidad and Tobago Saturday at the Scotstoun Stadium.
It was one of three medals, comprising two silvers and a bronze, won on the day for the team in red, white, and black.
Cyclist Nicholas Paul also claimed a silver medal after being beaten in two straight rides by Australian Leigh Hoffman in the men’s sprint final, while the country’s 4×100-metre women’s relay team added a bronze in their final.
Richards crosses second in 400m final
Richards, a former world indoor 200m champion, benefited from a quick 0.152-second reaction time at the start to power his way to the finish line, lifting his hands in celebration after crossing the line in 44.82 seconds. However, he had to settle for silver as 20-year-old Nigerian Samuel Ogazi sealed the win in 44.25 seconds, following a 0.196-second reaction time.
Last Thursday, the two drew swords and set up a showdown after similar performances in the semifinals. In heat three, Richards had an easy canter to the final, winning from lane seven in a time of 45.06 seconds. It was the ideal preparation for the T&T sprinter, but Ogazi delivered an equally impressive one-lap victory, raising eyebrows with a 44.52-second finish in semifinal heat one.
After both became the only two runners to record sub-45-second times in yesterday’s one-lap affair, South African Zakithi Nene dashed home to secure the bronze medal in 45.21 seconds. Botswana’s Lee Bhekempilo Eppie completed the top four in 45.31 seconds, and Thomas Reynolds of Australia took fifth place in 45.57 seconds.
Paul places second in match sprint
In cycling, Paul, a multiple-time medallist at international events, was among three T&T riders bidding for silverware over the weekend at te Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Joined by two-time Olympian Njisane Phillip and Zion Pulido in the qualifiers, the red, white, and black of T&T looked as hopeful as they did in the team sprint, which had secured them a bronze medal on the opening day.
However, the field narrowed and hopes slid when Pulido’s time of 10.252 seconds placed him 21st, which was insufficient to advance him to the second-round match sprints. His compatriots Paul, who once held the record as the fastest man on wheels at 9.100 seconds, and Phillip, a fourth-place finisher in the match sprint at the 2012 London Olympics in England, produced respective times of 9.603 and 9.630 seconds to rank among the top three fastest riders in the qualifiers.
Both then moved on to the quarterfinals, with Phillip defeating Scotland’s Peter Mitchell and Paul executing well to get past Welshman Steffan Lloyd. Paul, a triple gold medallist in the kilometre time trial, the keirin, and the men’s sprint at the 2021 UCI Nations Cup, later progressed to the semifinals by brushing aside Daniel James Barber of Australia in two rides while, his countryman Phillip fell short against England’s Harry Ledingham-Horn in the same number of attempts.
With Paul surprisingly missing out on a podium finish in the keirin the day before, the stocky rider, who won gold in the keirin at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, assured himself of a medal by exacting revenge on Ledingham-Horn in two straight rides. But in the final, Paul surrendered his first ride as Hoffman produced blinding speed on the straightaway. Pushing to send the final to a deciding third ride, Paul fell short as the Aussie secured the gold medal impressively in the second round.
T&t quartet sprints to 4x100m bronze
Meanwhile, there was also a bronze medal for the country’s 4×100-metre women’s relay team.
The quartet of Michelle-Lee Ahye, Bascombe, Reese Webster, and Leah Bertrand, running in that order, had qualified for the title race as the second-fastest team in heat one of the first round with a personal best of 43.31 seconds. In the final, they faced the test of their lives against Canada’s foursome, Frederique Chiasson, Gabrielle Cole, Marie-Eloise Leclair and Audrey Leduc, and the Jamaican quartet of Shericka Jackson, Ashanti Moore, Alana Reid and Jonielle Smith, both of whom had recorded faster times in the qualifiers.
In the final, there were no surprises. Regional giants Jamaica combined speed and perfect baton execution to sprint away with the gold medal in a time of 42.65 seconds. Canada secured the silver in 42.76 seconds, while Bascombe guided T&T to the bronze medal in 43.07 seconds, earning her second medal of the Games.
In the women’s long jump, neither of T&T’s two finalists, Tyra Gittens-Spotsville and Janae De Gannes, reached the podium. Gittens-Spotsville finished fifth with a best effort of 6.74m, while De Gannes placed 11th with a jump of 6.28m on the final day of track and field at the Commonwealth Games.
Judoka Boyce loses in round of 16
Over at SEC Hall 4, T&T’s judoka Jelanie Boyce was defeated by ippon against New Zealand’s Joel Robinson in the Round of 16 men’s -73kg, bringing his time at Glasgow 2026 to a close.
Judo action continues Sunday, when Gabriella Wood takes to the tatami against Cameroon’s Richelle Anita Soppi Mbella in the women’s +78kg quarterfinal match.
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
