A sea of red, white and black washed Port-of-Spain yesterday as hundreds dressed in the national colours, came out to show support for T&T’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes in a celebratory send-off held in their honour. Both teams, comprising over 20 athletes, are scheduled to leave soon for London, England to compete in the 2012 Olympics, which will be staged from July 27 to August 12. The event began with a march from the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), down Frederick Street ending at Woodford Square. Scores of schoolchildren and onlookers, flags in hand, lined the streets to participate in the Carnival-style event, which began around noon. The athletes arrived in a truck and were all smiles as people shouted their names and cheered them on.
Many held up placards with words of encouragement, such as, “Go For Gold Team T&T.” Present were sprinters Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Keston Bledman, Kai Selvon, Semoy Hackett, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Reyare Thomas, Ayanna Hutchinson and Jamal James; hurdlers Janeil Bellille and Mikel Thomas; 400m runners Michael Cedeno and Renny Quow; Keshorn Walcott (javelin); Paralympic powerlifter Carlos Greene; triple-jumper Ayanna Alexander; and boxer Carlos Suarez. Kes the Band, which headlined the concert, and DJs JW and Blaze had the entertainment aspect of the parade covered. Lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller, backed by his energetic dancers, delivered a riveting performance, performed some of his best known tracks including Stress Away and Wotless, as well as his anthem for the T&T Olympic team, We Are Conquerors, which he released in March.
Kees, a former Groovy Soca Monarch champ, had the crowd eating out of his hands as people sang along, word for word. JW and Blaze had no problem in moving the crowd. They had both young and old jumping and dancing when they sang their massive 2010 Soca Monarch hit, Palance. BP Renegades, a tassa group and Cadet Band also performed at the parade. The event was hosted by BP Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT), the official sponsor of both the T&T Olympic and Paralympic teams.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt