Team TTO | Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee | teamtto.org

Upon the centenary of this country's declaration of war on Germany, it is appropriate to recall that sport suffered as grievously as any other sphere of society during the conflict

How little the innocence of a Swedish summer seemed to preface the sinister clouds of conflagration.

George Hutson, Thomas Gillespie, Laurie Anderson and Richard Yorke had all assembled at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm in anticipation of stirring some national pride, and scarcely 2½ years later all four of them were dead. Frederick Kitching, a standing long jumper at the 1908 Games in London, had also perished.

Upon Monday’s centenary of Britain’s declaration of war on Germany, it is apt to recall a quintet of young British Olympians who entered World War One imagining that it would all be over by Christmas and ended up never seeing another Christmas at all.

Of the 888,246 poppies that lie strewn at the foot of the Tower of London this morning, denoting each member of Britain’s military dead in The Great War, five are for them. They are the oft-forgotten figures who support the terrible truth of Field Marshal Lord Roberts’s proclamation in August 1914 that “this is not the time to play games, wholesome as they are in times of piping peace. We are engaged in a life-and-death struggle.”

For sport in Britain would suffer as grievously as any other sphere of society, with the loss of 34 first-class cricketers, 27 England rugby union internationals, and unknown hundreds among the 2,000 professional footballers who signed up to serve.

The quest to recruit sportsmen had gathered pace at the behest of Arthur Conan Doyle, the Sherlock Homes author, who argued: “If the cricketer had a straight eye, let him look along the barrel of a rifle.” As the fate of those five Olympians, deprived even of seeing out 1914, showed vividly, it would come at the most dreadful price.

Not that Hutson had the vaguest inkling. He was broadly recognised as the most promising distance runner of his generation, first coming to notice when he won a military cross-country race while stationed at the Curragh, for the 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, “beating all favourites”, according to his official death notice.

For three years in succession he was the English champion over a mile, reaching the zenith of his career at the Olympics in Stockholm, where he took the bronze medal in the 5,000 metres, behind Finland’s Hannes Kolehmainen and Jean Bouin, of France, both of whom shattered the world record. He would seize another bronze in the 3,000m, narrowly trailing team-mates Joe Cottrill and Cyril Porter as the British completed a sweep of the podium.

It was Hutson’s misfortune that a mere five weeks after Britain went to war, his unit became drawn into the First Battle of the Marne, marking the start of the trench-bound inertia that would characterise the entire conflict. It signalled “the end of the beginning”, to invoke Churchill’s line about El Alamein.

Despite the Allied victory that thwarted an apparently remorseless German advance towards Paris, whose governor-general had already ordered demolition charges to be placed beneath the Eiffel Tower, the slaughter was terrible, with half a million men killed or wounded in the space of eight days.

Hutson himself is understood to have died just as the Germans began their withdrawal north of the River Marne, near the Ardennes village of Vendresse. His remains were never recovered, and it was not for another eight months that his widow, back home in Roseland Cottages in bucolic Lewes, was even informed of his passing. He was 24 years old.

Scottish rower Gillespie had been almost an exact contemporary, going one better at the Stockholm Games by grasping a silver in the men’s eight. He had first unearthed his gift as an oarsman at Winchester, before refining his craft at New College, Oxford, with whom he twice won the Head of the River Race as a prelude to capturing a defining Olympic medal.

A little over two years later, he obtained a university commission to join the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, seeing action almost immediately as a lieutenant in the First Battle of the Aisne, the hideous stalemate of September 1914 that did much to lock the belligerents into a sequence of negligible gains and losses for the next four years.

Gillespie lay in the trenches at Missy-sur-Aisne, exposed to the bombardment of German heavy artillery for 17 days and nights. He was reported killed, aged 21, at La Bassée, a small town in the Pas-de-Calais region, as the opposing armies fought with mounting futility to envelop each other’s northern flanks in the grimly-titled ‘Race to the Sea’.

His brother, Alexander, was also lost in the war, but his letters from Flanders survive to this day, and a foreword from the then Bishop of Southwark attests explicitly to Thomas’s sporting prowess.

Depicting him as a “great, strong, fearless, affectionate fellow,” he offered an ode borrowed from Victorian poet Robert Browning: “Our manhood’s prime vigour! No spirit feels waste. Not a muscle is stopped in its playing, not a sinew unbraced.”

Athlete Anderson, four years Gillespie’s senior, was an Eton man, securing the school’s rare distinction of captaining the ‘Oppidans’ – the most academically distinguished pupils – at the same time as being voted president of ‘Pop’, otherwise known as head boy.

It had been intended that he should follow his older brother, Arthur, to Cambridge, but instead this consummate sprinter went to Oxford, promptly earning his blue for track and field before setting the first official world record for the 440-yard hurdles in 56.8 seconds. Inauspiciously for Anderson, the event was excised from the Olympic programme for Stockholm, but he was still a favourite to claim a medal in the high hurdles until falling in his semi-final.

As war engulfed western Europe, Anderson was swiftly embroiled with the Cheshire Regiment, and amid the carnage around Ypres suffered mortal wounds alongside George Bertram Pollock-Hodsoll, a footballer who had played for the Army team. There is some dispute over whether his injuries were immediately fatal, with battalion archives registering his death on Nov 7, while the Commonwealth War Graves Commission puts it four days later.

But news of his death rippled far and wide. Indeed, Anderson’s name was the first mentioned in a mournful dispatch in The New York Times headlined: “England losing athletes – many prominent in sporting circles die on battlefields.”

It is inscribed now on the Menin Gate in Ypres, which commemorates every one of those 54,000 officers whose final resting place will never be known and where buglers, without fail, sound the Last Post at eight each evening.

Kitching, while a figure of less public renown than Anderson, was the first British athlete to exhibit sustained proficiency in the javelin. From County Durham and originally a specialist in the standing jumps, he switched to the spear with immediate success, becoming the only Briton of his day to break the 120ft, 130ft and 140ft barriers, eventually establishing a personal best of 143ft 3in (43.66m).

He had arisen from a diametrically opposed background to Anderson, as a descendant of the Victorian industrialists, counting himself as one of seven grandsons of Alfred Kitching, builder of the Derwent locomotive.

Local folklore in his hometown of Darlington insists that he won at least a bronze in the standing long jump at the London Olympics in 1908, but published results list him as one of 17 entrants without a recorded distance.

The precise circumstances of his death after enlistment in World War One also continue to be uncertain. He is believed to have fallen in late 1914 in Dunkirk, where the Navy had arrived to help bolster the defence of Antwerp, but the CWGC is yet to identify a grave.

Yorke, a steeplechaser, was the one British Olympian slain in 1914 who had competed in both the 1908 and 1912 Games, having switched to the flat to enhance his chances in Stockholm.

It proved a forlorn ploy, as he was eliminated in the opening rounds of both the 800 and 1,500m, his last significant appearance before war. As a sergeant with the London Scottish Regiment he fought in Arras, where in December the French had asked for urgent British involvement to help push the German line further north.

Yorke lost his life three days before Christmas, at the culmination of the Battle of Givenchy. He is buried at the Arras Road cemetery near Roclincourt, where 263 bleached-white headstones are arrayed in perfect equilateral formation, marching towards the horizon across this flattest and most forsaken of landscapes.

Somewhere on Monday, in that extraordinary Tower of London display, there will be five poppies for Yorke and his fellow Olympians. They stand as suitably stark testimony to sport's lost generation.

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Team’s pride after record medal haul reverses slide, and knocks Australia off top of the table, while inspired hosts Scotland double their previous tally

It was more a measured response to a specific question than a patriotic roar, but the words still crept out of Jan Paterson’s mouth: “We smashed it”.

With the curtain drawn on the 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games, Team England’s chef de mission was able to reflect on a job well done.

Not only had they had ended Australia’s 28-year stint at the top of the medal table, they had also set a new record in the process: 174 medals – consisting of 58 golds, 59 silvers and 57 bronzes – meant Glasgow was officially England’s best Commonwealth Games in history.

That the landmark had already been achieved with a day to spare was simply salt in Australia’s wounds. Gold medals on the final afternoon for Lizzie Armitstead in the road race and husband-and-wife badminton mixed doubles pair Chris and Gabby Adcock were nothing more than a bonus.

From the high of 53 gold medals in Manchester 12 years ago to the lows of 36 and 37 in Melbourne and Delhi respectively, the slump was definitively over.

“We are immensely proud of our achievements,” said Paterson. “To be top of the medal table is a unique position for us to be in. Our aspiration was of reversing the slide in Delhi on the medal table. Well we haven’t just reversed it, we smashed it. It’s a great feeling.”

Shorn of headline stars such as Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill, the most encouraging element of England’s success was that a healthy chunk of it came from previously unknown sources. Indeed, no star shone brighter than Claudia Fragapane.

Arriving in Glasgow as a relative unknown, the 16-year-old left not only as one of the brightest gymnastics talents the country has produced, but with stardom undoubtedly on the horizon. The dynamic 4ft 6in ‘Pocket Rocket’ dazzled with her street-dance inspired routines on her way to becoming the first Englishwoman to win four golds at a single Commonwealth Games since swimmer Joyce Cooper in 1930.

Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, the youngest British swimmer to compete at the London Olympics two years ago, was another who came of age, equalling the record of six medals won at a single Games, while Ben Proud and Adam Peaty were further examples of breakthrough English success stories in the pool, with two gold medals apiece.

“We set our goal and we’ve not only achieved it but exceeded it,” said Paterson. “For the team that is here, especially because they are such a young team, the potential going forward is massive.

“Looking to the Gold Coast [Commonwealth Games in 2018] and beyond, I think it’s a real step up and a lot of the athletes who are here have benefited from what Team England has done. The average age of our medallists is 24 so the future is looking bright.”

Glory was not confined to the those making their big breakthrough in Glasgow. There was also joy for a number of more established competitors, with Olympic medallist Max Whitlock eclipsing celebrity team-mate Louis Smith to become a triple gymnastics champion.

Nicola Adams won the first women’s Commonwealth Games boxing gold medal, Tom Daley retained his 10 metre platform title and brothers Alastair and Jonathan Brownlee ensured both individual and team triathlons were an all-England affair.

Daley, who also claimed synchronised 10m platform silver, says the hope now is for England’s triumph in Glasgow to have the same effect as Britain’s recent Olympic accomplishments. “It shows the legacy of London 2012 and hopefully we can see a legacy of these Commonwealth Games,” he said. “In 10 years’ time we could be the most dominant country at the Commonwealth Games and even at the Olympics.”

When Team Scotland posted a pre-Commonwealth Games target of breaking their record 33-medal haul of Edinburgh 1986, the declaration was not just the bravado of a host nation looking to capitalise on home advantage. Years of planning and investment had gone in to making sure Glasgow 2014 would be lifted by the success of Scottish athletes, and the results were spectacular.

Surpassing that previous best tally halfway through the Games, the hosts ended with 53 medals – more than double the 26 won at the last Games – and finished fourth in the medal table.

It was away from the abstract world of numbers that the hosts really shone, however, as a set of Scottish stars gave the home crowd memories to treasure: The smile of 13-year-old swimmer Erraid Davies after winning bronze; the determination of athletes Lynsey Sharp and Eilidh Child to live up to the hype and claim silver medals in front of an elated Hampden Park crowd; the exuberance of gold-medal winning boxer Charlie Flynn; the complete shock of swimmer Ross Murdoch after beating home favourite Michael Jamieson to 200m breaststroke gold.

Success seemed to breed success for the Scots. “For me, watching how well people did at the start of the Games just inspired me to want to be like them,” said Sharp.

For Wales, Geraint Thomas’s road race victory in the pouring rain of the final day capped off a record tally of 36 medals that at one stage had seemed almost an impossibility.

Any hope of reaching their pre-Games target of 27 medals seemed to have disappeared with a calamitous build-up that saw Fred Evans refused accreditation for a past criminal conviction, Gareth Warburton and Rhys Williams suspended for failing drug tests and Becky James, Non Stanford and Helen Jenkins withdrawing through injury.

With gymnast Francesca Jones picking up six medals and Jazz Carlin becoming the first Welshwoman in 40 years to triumph in the pool they not only reached their target, but far exceeded expectations.

So as Glasgow 2014 ends there can only be one conclusion to draw. To borrow Paterson’s words: the home nations “smashed it”.

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Australia won just 49 gold medals - compared to 74 in Delhi four years ago following hauls of 84, 81, 79 and 87 - and, worst of all, England took their place at head of the table.

If only Australia had not left it quite so late. Despite winning four of the 11 gold medals on offer on the final day in Glasgow, the 417-strong team will make the long journey back home wondering what went wrong.

Not since the Edinburgh Games of 1986 have Australia failed to finish top of the medal table.

A total of 74 golds in Delhi followed previous hauls of 84, 81, 79 and 87, yet they head home from Glasgow having won just 49 and, worst of all, it is England who have taken their place at the head of the table.

The step backwards is all the more worrying with the next Commonwealth Games to be held on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

But, ever the optimist, Steve Moneghetti, Australia’s chef de mission, has backed the country to regain their “rightful place” at the top of the table in four years’ time


“I think England have performed really well and give credit to them,” he said. “I think they’ve probably achieved higher and we’ve probably achieved about what we expected.

“That gives us a challenge and there were some factors in their favour here that will be in our favour when the Games come to the Gold Coast in four years’ time.

“Whilst our athletes here have performed terrifically well I’m sure there will be great momentum now going to the Gold Coast to make sure we rewrite our rightful place in the sporting battle that is Australia versus England.”

A series of underwhelming performances in the velodrome and swimming pool in the opening few days set the tone for Australia’s worst-ever gymnastics results and their lowest athletics medal haul since 1978.

However, Moneghetti, who says he does not set medal targets, has refused to view his team’s performances in a negative light.

“I am not going to change my line, it’s not about gold medals,” he said. “We can’t control what other countries do. In medal tallies, if other countries go great or countries go bad, our position relative to that doesn’t bother me as long as our athletes are comfortable that they’ve had the chance to give a fair account of themselves.”

As well as multiple disappointments in various sporting arenas, there was plenty of embarrassment away from them.

Athletics Australia has confirmed it is launching a full-scale review after head coach Eric Hollingsworth was sent home for publicly criticising 100  metres hurdler Sally Pearson, who went on to win gold.

Weightlifter Francois Etoundi, who won a bronze medal, also landed himself in trouble when his accreditation was revoked for butting Welsh rival Gareth Evans in the athletes’ village.

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An established member of her national team for well over a decade, Alena Edwards was the player to catch the eye as proceedings commenced in the second session of the sixth day of play, Tuesday 29th July, at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in the Scotstoun Sports Campus.

She overcame Jersey’s Kelsey Le Maistre in five games (11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4), a player who was in good form. In the opening match in the group she had beaten Krystle Harvey of Barbados by a similar margin (11-9, 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9) to the defeat she suffered against the Trinidadian. However, against the strong attacking play and the extra experience of Alena Edwards, the 18 year old Channel Islander on Commonwealth Games debut found life tough.

Games Ratio
A good start for Alena Edwards but it was not a good finish to the day; she was beaten by Krystle Harvey in five games (6-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8).

Nevertheless, she could still raise a smile, she finished in first place in the group on games ratio (7:5) with Kelsey Le Maistre in second spot (5:5) and Krystle Harvey third 5:7).

Injury Problems
Success for Alena Edwards and a sense of relief, in recent times she has not enjoyed the best of fortunes; the fact she was able to play positively, especially from the forehand was a good sign.

"In 2007, I got a shoulder injury, I didn't have an operation”, explained Alena Edwards. “I just rest for a few periods; if I play hard and do not have it treated, it would be problematic."

Against Kelsey Le Maistre, there appeared to be no physical problems for the young lady with a bright Caribbean smile who two years ago spent a considerable amount of time helping other without seeking gain or financial reward.

Volunteer in London
She was a volunteer at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

"It was a great experience, I had the opportunity of not being a player, enjoy and watch other people play”, she explained.

A fine start for Aleena Edwards and earlier in the day it had been a fine start for two further tried and trusted members of the Trinidad and Tobago National Team.

Good Start for Renowned Duo
Earlier, both Dexter St. Louis and Rheann Chung had completed their first phase matches successfully and in first places in their respective groups.

Dexter St Louis, now 46 years old and one of the most experienced players on duty in Glasgow showed the form of 2002 Commonwealth Games when in the Men’s Team event he stunned the Manchester crowd by winning both his matches in opposition to England.

In Glasgow, in the opening phase of the Men’s Singles event, he accounted for both Kevin Farley of Barbados (18-16, 7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8) and Kenya’s Michael Owuo Otieno (11-4, 11-1, 11-3, 11-6).

Straight Games Success
A tough test against Kevin Farley but for Dexter St Louis but there were no such qualms for Rheann Chung, she did not surrender a single game.

She overcame Tanzania’s Neema Dennis Mwaisyula (11-5, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2) and Kaimalie Resture (11-3, 11-6, 11-3, 11-3).

First place in the group for Dexter St. Louis and it was the same for the other leading players on view.

Leading Names Top Groups
In addition to Dexter St. Louis it was first place for Canada’s André Ho and Pierre-Luc Theriault, as it was for Marios Yiangou of Cyprus, Australia’s David Powell and Malaysia’s Muhd Shakirin Ibraham. Likewise New Zealand’s Liu Tengteng and Phillip Xiao secured top spots in their groups.

First places for the top eight names on first stage Men’s Singles duty; it was the same for the women.

Alongside Rheann Chung it was pole position for England’s Tin-Tin Ho and Charlotte Carey of Wales, as it was for the Nigerian trio of Offiong Edem, Cecilia Akpan and Ganiat Ogundele.

Not to be left out New Zealand’s Annie Yang and Northern Ireland’s Amanda Mogey secured first places in their groups.

Main Draw
Play in the first and second rounds of the Women’s Singles event commences on Wednesday 30th July; for the Men’s Singles competition it is one day later, Thursday 31st July.

The top 16 men and top 16 women enter proceedings in round two.

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Another Commonwealth medal for T&T jumper

Trinidad and Tobago's Michael Alexander and Aaron Prince have both reached the quarter finals of their respective weight divisions at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,

Alexander will face Barbadian C Breedy tonight (Tuesday) at 7.00 pm UK time in the men's  lightweight (65kg)division.Alexander is ranked 15th in the world by the World Boxing Association.In 2013 he won bronze at the Pan Am Championships in Chile,and in 2014,bronze at the Giraldo Cordova  Cardin International Tournament in Cuba.This is his first Commonwealth Games.

Prince,fighting in the men's middleweight (75 kg)division,will meet V Vijender of India tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 8.30 pm.Prince was a bronze medallist at the 2010 CAC Games.This is his second Commonwealth Games.

Coaches Reynold Cox and Floyde Trumpet both expect their charges to go all the way to the finals.

Ken Jaikaransingh

T&T Gymnast William Albert arrived at the village last  Tuesday morning
and is hard at work.  He did a light workout on Tuesday just after
checking in to overcome the jet lag.

During Wednesday and Thursday's training he was able to do his full
routines on all six events with no major faults. He looks
exceptionally well prepared as he went through his workout making
minor adjustments as he feels out the GymNova equipment which is new
to him.

He expects to  have all the kinks ironed out come Monday when he
begins his competition at the SSE Hydro Arena, start time 1:30pm, UK
time .

Meanwhile,in squash,Kale Wilson defeated   lefty  Daniel Zammit-Lewis
from Malta 8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9.

The see-saw encounter was determined in the crucial 5th game.Wilson
stamped his authority on the match by going ahead 10-4, but then
suddenly Zammit-Lewis was managing  to keep every ball in play.

Wilson was forced to really earn the match and although he made a
couple of  unforced errors, the initial lead was too large. He finally
took the match at 10-9 , a long gruelling rally ending in a winning
drive by Wilson

Later,in a much-anticipated match between two rival Caribbean players
Wilson also  defeated  Bruce Burrowes of Jamaica 9-11, 11-5, 6-11,
11-6, 11-6 .

In the first game, the play was a bit high-paced but very scrappy.
Close to the end of the game, some  bad choices and errors turned the
game in favour of the Jamaican who closed it off 11-9

In the second, Wilson was never in trouble and won the game 11-5,but
Burrowes  broke away and won the 3rd game 11-6.The final two games
were almost identical. Wilson played a tremendously patient  game,and
was in command for the 4th and 5th games winning 11-6, 11-6 to take
the match 3-2.

In the women’s squash  tournament,Charlotte Knaggs defeated Colette
Sultana  who withdrew due to injury,but then lost to Anaka Alankamony
(IND) 4-11, 6-11, 7-11.

Knaggs had a slow start but eventually tightened up her shots a bit
after losing the first game 11-4. She began to create some chances
with her pace and her opponent made a few unforced errors.

However, Alankamony’s short game was just a bit too strong.
She soon began to raise her game and took advantage of any loose ball
that set up an opening. Knaggs was doing a lot of running but was
retrieving well to stay in the points. Despite Knagg's persistence and
a few well-structured points and winning shots, the Indian #3 for
their team proved to be the better player.

Kale Wilson now advances to the men’s plate quarter-final  against
Hardeep Reel from Kenya.



END

Both T&T's Men's and Women's hockey teams lost their pool games against
their respective New Zealand opponents at the Commonwealth
games,Glasgow.

On Friday evening,a fit and finely tuned New Zealand women's team took
advantage of the youth,inexperience and inadequacies of our women to
hand out a 14-0 thrashing. Seven goals were scored on either side of
the half. New Zealand forced 12 penalty corners, resulting in 4 of their
total, while T&T could only muster one in reply.

On Saturday morning,T &T's Men's team could muster nothing like the
energy they showed against England in their previous game,albeit in a
losing cause. New Zealand clobbered T&T 8-0,with 4 goals in each
half.Three of NZ's goals came directly from penalty corners, while
another three resulted from rebounds.T&T were unable to force a single
penalty corner in the game,and the NZ goalkeeper was not called upon
to make a single save.

Both teams face Canada's women and men on Sunday 27,hoping for better results.


END

...Cedenio dominates 400m heats

T&T’s two highly rated 4x100m relay teams will attempt to book a spot in tomorrow’s semifinals, at the IAAF World Junior Championships, in Eugene, Oregon, when they contest the women and men’s heats from 9.05 pm today.

The two relay heats will following individual performances from Shakiel Waithe and Akila Mc Shine, who will line-up in the preliminaries of the men’s javelin and the girls’ 100m hurdles.

McShine, whose personal best stands at 13.91 seconds will line up in heat five at approximately 2 pm. then at around 3.45 pm, Shackiel Waithe, whose season best of 72.75m (fifth best in the line-up) will attempt to qualify out of the preliminaries with the intention of attaining success similar to Keshorn Walcott, who won gold two years ago.

T&T’s men’s 4x100m relay team (Jonathan Farinha, John Mark Constantine, Holland Cabare, Micah Ballantyne, Akanni Hislop and Aaron Lewis), is expected to run its first heat just after 9.40 pm, following the girls’ attempt at the same distance. The girls’ .team includes Zakiya Denoon, Aaliyah Telesford, Kayelle Clarke, Mauricia Preito and Trishelle Leacock.

Successful teams will advance directly to the final carded for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, action on Wednesday night saw Jonathan Farinha, one of T&T’s best prospects at precious metal finish eighth from as many athletes in the Men’s 100m final. He clocked 10.47 seconds. American pair Kendal Williams and Trayvon Bromell took a top-two finish in 10.21 and 10.28 seconds, respectively. He returned to action in the 200m heats, yesterday afternoon where he placed 11th overall with a 21.11 mark.

The semifinals were carded for 9.40 pm. The final will run at 11.10 tonight.

T&T’s junior world leading 400m runner, Machel Cedenio, had a strong performance as he blistered in the heats to qualify easily for last night’s 400m semifinal. Cedenio clocked 45.90 seconds, while USA’s Tyler Brown and Alexander Sampao of Kenya ran 45.97 and 46.21 seconds as the second and third fastest qualifiers, respectively.

The men’s 400m final ran after press time last night. Ruebin Walters, who ran the seventh fastest time overall in the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals, also contested the final after press time. He ran 13.61 seconds in the semifinal, after running 13.76 in the heats.

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Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Jonathan Farinha finished eighth in the Men’s 100m final Wednesday night when the second night of the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships continued in Eugene, Oregon.

Farinha, running out of lane seven, was last across the line in 10.47 in a race won by USA’s Kendall Williams in a personal best of 10.21.

That was an upset as Williams’ compatriot, pre-Games favourite and current world junior record holder Trayvon Bromwell  could only clinch silver in 10.28 with Japan’s Asian junior record-holder Yoshihide Kiryu  taking the bronze in 10.34.

Barbados’ Levi Cadogan was fourth (10.39), Antigua’s Cejhae Greene fifth (10.43), Great Britain’s Ojie Eduburun sixth (10.45) and Canada’s Andre Azonwanna seventh (10.46) in a competitive and close final. Bromwell would have been disappointed as the University of Baylor freshman ran a 9.97 world record at this same track back in June at the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Track and Field Championships.

After press time last night, two other male T&T athletes were scheduled to take part in finals.

The one with the best medal chance was T&T’s Machel Cedenio.

On Wednesday, Cedenio topped the field in the last semi-final, heat  three, to advance to the final in 45.90 ahead of Lamar Bruton-Grimmage in 46.67. Cedenio’s time was the fastest out of the semi-finals.

In the Men’s 110m hurdles , Reubin Walters earned a final spot as the second of the two fastest losers.

He was fourth in his semi-final heat two of three in 13.61 behind GBR’s David Omoregie 13.36, France’s Benjamin Sedecias (13.45) and Spain’s Franciso Lopez (13.55)

Also after press time last night, Farinha was trying to rebound with a better showing in the Men’s 200m semi-final heats.

In the heats, Farinha qualified easily for the semi-final round,  winning heat six of nine in 21.11 ahead of Brazil’s Vitor Hugo Dos Santos in 21.33

And T&T’s female representative in the 200m, Kayelle Clarke also moved on to the semi-final round when she was second in heat four of seven in 24.00,  a heat won by USA’ s Jada Martin (23.62)

On Wednesday, in the women’s 100m semi-final T&T’s Zakiya Denoon and Aaliyah Telesford both finished seventh in their semi-final heats one and three respectively and failed to advance to the final. Denoon stopped the clock in 12.13 while Telesford clocked 11.94.

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The TT Rugby Sevens team has been warming up for Glasgow 2014 with a
series of practice matches.At the pre-Games camp at Strathallan
School,TT played two games Perthshire Rugby Club ,winning both. The
T&T team  later won two out of three games played against Falkirk
Rugby Club.

“These games were crucial as they offered us the opportunity to test
our attacking and defensive structures” said National Coach Larry
Mendez. “We relished the opportunity to play unknown and skilful
opposition, to test our own reaction and preparedness” .

“We are very grateful to the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee for
having the foresight to organise such a camp” said Manager Curtis
Nero. “It gave us the opportunity to not only acclimatise, but to
train together and promote team bonding which is so vital in team
sports” .

The team entered the Games Village on 13 July where  the programme
continued, with modifications for peaking, particularly in gym work.

Pre-competition games included a scrimmage session against Papua New
Guinea (PNG) on Thursday 17th July. “A scrimmage is a semi-controlled
game,” explained coach Mendez, “in which we agree to go live on scrums
and lineouts, but only smother tackle in open field. The controlled
game is meant to minimise potential injury by reducing the incidence
of contact".

In the two games played against PNG, T&T won the first 10 points to 5
(no conversions taken), while  the other was drawn 15 points each.

T&T had another scrimmage against Uganda on Saturday 19th in miserable
rainy weather . Uganda won the first in the first 5 points to 15, but
T&T  stormed back to take the second 15 points to 10.

Two scrimmages  were played and lost against Canada, 10 points to 15
and 5 points to 15

“I am really pleased with our defensive structures displayed in the
game against Canada,” said Assistant Coach Dale Trotman. “Despite the
loss, there were some good points we can build on as well as things we
need to fix. We need to press home our attacking advantages by
reacting quicker after creating the gaps. Improved communication on
the field will help.”

“We are pleased with the leadership and high quality of play being
shown by captain Joseph Quashie and Jesse Richards’ play so far has
been tremendous and an inspiration to the team,” says manager Curtis
Nero.” Individuals are beginning to step up now and we are seeing good
team play. The challenge is to maintain that focus for the duration of
the game. That is our challenge .”

END

Most of Trinidad and Tobago’s track & field contingent is now in the Games Village at Glasgow..

On Sunday night, Lalonde Gordon, Jarrin Solomon, Renny Quow, Keston Bledman and Cleopatra Borel joined their colleagues in the residences.. Early Monday morning), Janeil Bellile and Shawna Fermin entered the Village.

Two more athletes - young Machel Cedenio ,who is attending the IAAF World Juniors in Eugene, Oregon and Akeem Stewart, who will compete in both the Men's Shot Put and Discus ,have been called up for national duty. They will both join the team shortly.

For the first time, Trinidad and Tobago will be represented in all four sprint relays at the Commonwealth Games. Based on the success achieved at the recent IAAF World Relay Championships in Bahamas, much is expected of the relay teams.

In the Bahamas, both our 4X100m women  and the 4X400m men took bronze, while  our 4X100m men  earned silver. The  women's 4X400m team finished ninth overall. The medal won by the women's team is the first relay medal to be won by a  T&T women's team at the international level.

One major coincidence was that Trinidad and Tobago women's 4X100m clinched 3rd place by defeating Nigeria by 0.01 seconds, but in the women's 4X400m the tables were turned when the Nigerians denied our country of a spot in final by the same margin of 0.01 seconds

This morning most of the athletes were down at the Hampden Stadium going through their paces under the watchful eyes of the coaches and the medical team.  Track and field competition begins later this week in the various events

.

Meanwhile, table-tennis representatives  Dexter St Louis and Rheann Chung arrived at the Games Village  having performed very creditably at the Pan-Am festival in Mexico.Dexter made it to the round of 16 . Rheann lost 3-4 in the semi final to secure bronze.

Table-tennis playing journalist Kwame Lawrence  arrived at Glasgow Monday morning, and was scheduled to practise with Yuvraj Dookram and Catherine Spicer later that afternoon. Lawrence’s unique style will help Spicer  adjust to several playing styles at the games.

END

“It’s our biggest representation ever at one of these games. The demands on our staff are enormous and actual competition is still to begin!”

Dr Terry Ali, one of three doctors assigned to the Commonwealth Games, said he and other members of this country’s medical and therapeutic staff have had their hands full even before Wednesday’s start to the Commonwealth Games.

Along with Dr Ali, assisting T&T’s 129-athlete contingent in Glasgow, Scotland are doctors Anil Gopiesingh and Zynul Khan. Three physiotherapists and six massage therapists are also part of the team, which have felt their share of responsibility for the team’s preparations particularly last Saturday where they worked without a break from early morning to midnight.

News coming out of the camp is that T&T has been fortunate having no current major injury or illness scares.

A mini outbreak of flu-like symptoms that have affected around 12 Scottish Commonwealth Games assistants have not affected any member of the T&T contingent.

There have also been no positive drug tests within the T&T camp. Officials of the Commonwealth Games have adopted a rigorous approach to random drug testing on a round-the-clock bases.

They often come as an inconvenience to the athletes and management, according to chef-de-mission Ian Hypolite, who gave insight into the processes of drug testing. “It has annoyed a few people, but we must realise that this is now a serious business. Our contingent is party to a ‘whereabouts policy’, which means that our athletes must be at a certain location at a given time for possible drug testing. If they are not, they are searched out and tested wherever they are.”

Athletes may also be selected at random in the dining areas or at training, apart from the usual practice of post-competition testing.

Source

Trinidad and Tobago's contingent is now almost at full strength three
days before the start of the twentieth Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow,Scotland. Njisane Phillips,George Bovell III,Jehue
Gordon,Keshorn Walcott and Richard Thompson are some of T&T's marquee
names already in residence.

The bulk of our table-tennis contingent flies in from Mexico on
Tuesday,and swing into action almost immediately.

Triathlon athletes David Cottle and Andreas Stuven both arrived on
separate flights on Saturday night. David went for a light pool
training on Sunday morning while Andreas organized logistics for bike
and course familiarization.

Technical meetings for all athletes and managers begin Monday 21
June,where among other things,ahtletes' equipment will be tested for
conformity to competition regulations.

END