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

...Gatlin takes 100m

Jehue Gordon of T&T won the 400 hurdles by stunning Olympic champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic and former world champion Kerron Clement of the United States at the Herculis meeting in Monaco, yesterday. Gordon ran a season’s best 48.00 seconds, just 0.04 shy of the world-leading time set by Olympic runner-up Michael Tinsley at the US trials last month. Sanchez and Clement finished, respectively sixth and seventh. Justin Gatlin of the United States proved that he will be the toughest rival for Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the world championships by running 9.94 seconds to win the 100m.

Gatlin held off a challenge from fellow countryman Dentarius Locke, who finished 0.02 seconds back. French champion Jimmy Vicaut took third in 9.99. Amantle Montsho of Botswana, Vitezslav Vesely of the Czech Republic, along with Kenyans Asbel Kiprop and Edwin Cheruiyot Soi meanwhile set world-leading marks in the 10th leg of the Diamond League circuit.
World champion Montsho ran the women's fastest 400 this season in 49.33. European champion Vesely threw 87.68 in the men's javelin. Kiprop clocked 3:27.72 to beat Mo Farah of Britain in the men's 1,500. And Soi ran 12:51.34 in the men's 5,000. In his first competition back from a hamstring injury, Gatlin had enough power to lead a US team to victory in the 400 relay with a time of 37.58 before winning the 100.

Gatlin was not disappointed by his time, 0.19 second shy of American sprinter Tyson Gay’s world-leading time. Gay pulled out from the Herculis meet and the worlds after being notified last week by the US Anti-Doping Agency of a positive test for a banned substance. Gatlin is the only sprinter who has beaten Bolt this year. The 2004 Olympic champion and 2005 world champion edged Bolt by 0.01 second in Rome last month. World champion Kiprop entered the final lap of the 1,500 with the lead and broke away in the final curve. Farah came second in 3:28.81 to break the European record previously held by Spaniard Fermin Camacho since 1997. Britain's 5,000 and 10,000 Olympic champion from the London Games was running his first 1,500 this season to work on his speed ahead of the worlds.

Olympic runner-up Leonel Manzano of the United States finished a distant 13th, more than 16 seconds off the pace. Montsho beat Stephanie McPherson by 0.59 second to take the women's 400 and leapfrog Antonina Krivoshapka for the world-leading time. Francena McCorory of the United States ran a personal best in 49.96 to finish third. Vesely outclassed his rivals in the javelin, with Dmitriy Tarabin of Russia throwing 84.33 to finish second. Former Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway completed the podium with a 83.71 mark. In the women's 100 hurdles, Sally Pearson of Australia is still short of fitness three weeks before the worlds. The Olympic and world champion wound up fifth in a race won by Queen Harrison of the United States in 12.64. Pearson had a season hampered by a hamstring injury, losing also in Birmingham, Lausanne (Switzerland) and Sotteville (France). Brigetta Barrett leaped 2.01 in the women's high jump to beat by three centimeters Olympic champion Anna Chicherova of Russia and two-time world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia. The next Diamond League event is the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games in London on July 26-27.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee partnered with the Tobago House of Assembly to host the Tobago leg of the Olympic Youth Camp from 8^th to 13^th July at the Shaw Park conference room. The camp promoted the “Spirit of Olympism” by delivering modules incorporating sport, culture and education. The theme for 2013 “Molding Socially Responsible Athletes” aimed to create a culture of community involvement amongst our nation’s athletes.

TTOC’s stakeholders delivered presentations on Olympism, Communication, Social Responsibility and Conflict Resolution. Dancing, singing, art and sport were also part of the week’s proceedings. The camp concluded on 13^th July 2013 at the Division of Sport’s conference room, Shaw Park. Present at the closing ceremony were Mrs. Annette Knott General Secretary of the TTOC, Mrs. Allison Alleyne and Mr. Sheridan Kirk Sport Officers at the Tobago House of Assembly, parents and camp coordinators. Proud parents were mesmerised by the campers singing and dancing the Tobago jig.

More importantly their presentations on the Olympic Values and Social Responsibility emphasized the difference young persons were willing to make on issues affecting them. They came up with several novel ideas to impact their communities; plans are underway to stage a walkathon to raise awareness on violence and bullying, and promote a “speech band” on sexual education.

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BRIAN LEWIS, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC), met with his compatriots from Peru and Chile, on Wednesday and on July 4 respectively, as the two South American nations individually bid for the rights to host the 2019 Pan American Games.

The National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Chile, Peru, Argentina and Venezuela are in a close battle to stage the Games, and that decision will be made at the next General Assembly of PASO (Pan American Sporting Organisations), scheduled for October in Toronto, Canada.

In a media conference at the TTOC office, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain on Wednesday, after his meeting with Peru Olympic Committee president , Lewis said, “I’m not at liberty at this time to say which of the two you would have heard has gained our nod of approval, because our process is ongoing.”

“The strength of Peru’s bid is based upon the transformation that sport will bring to the youth of the nation,” he added.

“They have a very interesting history, recent and past, where sport was literally put on the back-burner in Peru.

“And they would have suffered greatly as a society from this. So their bid is a key part of the transformation of their society.

“The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) places the welfare of our athletes front, centre and behind.

“What was also an interesting feature of Peru’s bid is that, normally, in South American countries, either March or October, would be the chosen window for the Games, because of their (climatic) seasons.

“Interestingly enough, Peru is proposing to host the Games in July. That is another interesting feature, and one that would augur well for them.”

Quinones stated, “We are not here because we need more buildings for the Games.

“That’s not important as having the opportunity to receive the best of our country and to create positive role models.

“I have seen what that beautiful medal (by Keshorn Walcott) in London did for your country. That’s the same we want in our country.”

“We are here because we believe in the power of sport. In the year where we commemorate 150 years of our birth, I think it will be really beautiful if the (Pan Am nations) can permit us to have the honour to receive the Pan Am Games in our city,” he added.

The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Chile president Neven Illic, vice-president Miguel Angel Mujica, director Jorge Silva and advisor Gonzalo Escobedo met with the TTOC executive earlier this month.

“I think that the presentation is a sound one,” said Lewis. “It’s well thought out.”

Asked if there may be any planned visit from the other interested hosts, the TTOC boss noted, “they would have done their presentations at various meetings.

“I don’t know, they may have a slightly different strategy.”

“As I said, the presentation (of Chile) was a very sound one, they addressed a lot of the important issues that will impact the quality of a Games, especially from the athletes’ side,” he continued.

“They would have about 70 percent of their facilities finished by March next year. It is a commendable approach.

“They have a very strong legacy and perspective, the role that they would like to see sports play in Chile.”

“So that the hosting of the Games, and they’re also hosting the South American Games in March next year. It’s all part of their strategic national vision for the development of Chile and the role that sport can play. It is also a financially prudent bid,” he ended.

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Jamaican Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and American world champion Carmelita Jeter stormed out of their press conference on Thursday after refusing to discuss the latest drug scandal, leaving it to Justin Gatlin, a man who served two bans for doping, to defend the credibility of the sport.

Such is the mess athletics now finds itself in as it attempts to shift attention back to the track in tonight’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco, the first major event since Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell admitted failing drug tests five days ago.

The meeting features a rare appearance by double Olympic champion Mo Farah in the 1500m to hone his speed for next month’s World Championships in Moscow, though there is only one subject dominating the agenda in the principality.

After the angry walk-out by Jeter and Fraser-Pryce, a member of the same MVP Track Club as Powell, Gatlin did at least address the doping topic and predicted the sport would recover from its current crisis.

“I still believe in it,” he said. “I’m still a fan of the sport. We just have to get past this. The young athletes have to go out there and shine.”

Gatlin is the man most likely to challenge Usain Bolt for gold in Moscow in the absence of Gay and the injured Yohan Blake, and he believes he is already the man to beat.

“Actually, I think I’m No 1 in the sprint right now, on paper,” he said. “The world champion is out with a hamstring and I’ve beaten the previous world champion already in Rome, so I feel like I’m No 1.”

The prospect of Bolt being toppled by an athlete with such a chequered drug history is a nightmare scenario in the current climate, though Gatlin maintains he is now accepted by most fans.

“It was a rebirth for me to be able to come and be able to gain the respect of the community again,” he said. “I think people accept me now. You’re going to have critics all the time but the majority of the people on social media applaud me for coming back.”

Asked whether Gay could make a similar comeback if forced to serve a suspension, Gatlin replied: “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far. What’s going on with him hasn’t even reached the court stage yet. I’m not the judge, the jury in the situation. I’ll just sit back like any other spectator. But it’s a stressful time — not only for him, but for his family.”

As for Powell apparently testing positive after taking supplements, Gatlin said: “I think this shows a lot of the young athletes that it doesn’t have to be old stone-age steroids that are given to you in a syringe,” he said. “It can be something that over the counter that’s given to you. You just have to make sure that you’re responsible for what’s going into your body.”

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So let's just look at this year's world rankings for the 100 metres.

Top, with 9.75 seconds, Tyson Gay. Who has just admitted failing a doping test. And reported to be among five Jamaican athletes to have failed a test is the man who stands third in the listings with 9.88, former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell.

And who's fourth? Well, that's Justin Gatlin, the United States former Olympic champion who is now back in the sport having served two doping suspensions...but let's not worry about him for now. There's enough to worry about, as far as world athletics is concerned, with today's shocking news concerning the three men above him.

Reports have indicated that one of the other three Jamaican athletes to have failed a test is Sherone Simpson, the 2008 Olympic 100m silver medallist.

It is hard to think of a harsher blow for the sport.

Actually no, it isn't so hard. Similar news concerning the man currently sixth in the 100m listings, Usain Bolt, would be harsher. Almost terminally harsh.

There is no suggestion Bolt has ever been involved in any doping abuse. But it is hardly an easy state of affairs when the man who stands clear as the sport's great modern icon has a growing number of fellow Jamaican athletes who have run afoul of the anti-doping authorities in recent times.

Yohan Blake, Bolt's younger training partner under his coach Glen Mills, served a three-month suspension in 2009 for taking a banned stimulant.

In 2011, sprinter Steve Mullings was banned for life for a second doping offence. He had been training alongside Gay in Clermont, Florida under coach Lance Brauman.

In between winning the Olympic 100m titles at Beijing and London, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, coached by Stephen Francis, had to serve a three-month ban for taking a banned painkiller following dental treatment.

Earlier this year, double Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, who is also based in Clermont, Florida and worked with the Brauman training group until 2009, was found to have taken a banned diuretic and now faces a suspension.

Now we discover another five reported Jamaican wrongdoers, including, reportedly, Olympic 2008 100m silver medallist Simpson and the man whose world record Bolt broke shortly before the Beijing Games, Powell.

Both Gay and Powell have been part of the world sprinting landscape for the best part of a decade. The American made his big international debut at the 2005 World Championships, finishing fourth in the 200m. His fall from grace is all the more inexplicable for his previous hard-line stance on doping – he was one of the first Olympic athletes to volunteer for a US Anti-Doping Agency programme that requires regular testing of urine and blood samples.

Powell was part of the silver-medal winning sprint quartet at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and has been a consistently high performer despite failing to claim significant individual championship titles. By October of last year, Powell had recorded 88 legal sub-10sec 100m runs, the highest number achieved.

As men, Powell – who is coached by Stephen Francis in Kingston – and Gay – who has been coached by Brauman and former top US sprinter Jon Drummond – have a quiet demeanour in common, but while Powell is a relaxed and jokey character, Gay always presents as rather nervous and brittle.

Gay's personal website betrayed no hint of concern tonight – featuring as it did his latest Facebook posting, congratulating Andy Murray on his Wimbledon victory – "he showed crazy speed on that court in the final".

The crazy speed shown by Gay this season – he also topped the 200m world listings with 19.74sec until Bolt knocked 0.01sec off that time at the Paris Diamond League meeting – has built expectation for the forthcoming World Championships in Moscow.

After conclusive victories in the US trials over 100 and 200m, Gay appeared ready to put in a serious challenge for the world titles he won in Berlin in 2009 but has since seen secured by either Bolt or his Jamaican training partner Yohan Blake, who took advantage of Bolt's disqualification for a false start to win the 2011 100m title.

Now the sport is robbed of that excitement in Moscow.

News of the kind which has just broken leaves followers of athletics in an unhappily familiar state of ambivalence. Of course, it raises the big question that stems from all high-profile doping positives: can we now believe what we are seeing?

It is a mental process with which all followers of the Tour de France currently in progress will be familiar in the light of the blizzard of recent doping revelations centring on the now discredited seven-time champion Lance Armstrong.

There is, too, another familiar question. Is this bad news actually good news in the long term? And is no news bad news?

The fact that the big guys go down under doping bans shows that someone is not afraid to test them and punish them.

Twenty-five years ago, after the seismic sporting shock of Ben Johnson's disqualification for doping after winning the Olympic 100m title in a world record of 9.79sec, the then President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, insisted: "This is not a disaster. For it shows the IOC is very serious, and that we are winning the battle for a clean Games. The gap between our aims and those who are cheating is narrowing."

Athletics, certainly, is a lot wiser and more active over cheating than it ever was. Which is why, ultimately, today's bad news has to be seen as good news for all the thousands of track and field competitors who do not take the wrong road to results.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian.

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Asafa Powell's trainer Chris Xuereb says he should not be a "scapegoat" for the former 100m world record holder's positive drugs test.

Powell and fellow sprinter Sherone Simpson tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican National Championships in June.

Xuereb rejected claims from Paul Doyle, Powell's agent, that the results were due to supplements he had provided.

"I did not provide any banned or illegal substances," insisted Xuereb.

"I am extremely disappointed that these athletes have chosen to blame me for their own violations."

Canadian Xuereb, who said his main role was "to provide soft tissue massage therapy as well as nutritional help" to Powell and Campbell, only began working with the pair in May.

On Tuesday, Doyle indicated that the supplements provided to the athletes by Xuereb lay behind Powell and Simpson both testing positive.

"We were trying to figure out what went wrong and it was pretty obvious to us where we needed to look," Doyle told the New York Times.  

"There are many different things he was giving them and we still don't know which one caused the positive test. Most of the supplements he gave were for recovery or energy during workouts."

The last man to hold the individual 100m world record before compatriot Usain Bolt broke it in 2008, 30-year-old Powell has denied  he knowingly took any banned supplements or substances.

"It is time the athletes took responsibility for their doping instead of looking around for a scapegoat, whether that person is their therapist, bartender or anyone else," said Canadian Xuereb.

"While I did recommend vitamins, all vitamins recommended by me were all purchased over the counter at reputable nutritional stores and were major brands.

"These athletes did not inform me that they were taking any additional supplementation other than what I recommended."

He added that he believed the athletes had in fact been taking more supplements without his knowledge.

American Tyson Gay, the joint-second fastest man ever over 100m, was told on Friday that his A sample from an out-of-competition test in May was positive.

Both he and Powell are awaiting the results of their B tests.

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President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, Brian Lewis is intent on continuing the nationwide fight against doping, which has once again reared its ugly head.

Speaking to the sport administrator yesterday, Lewis is keen on promoting a well-educated sporting culture among all our local athletes and their respective managerial and coaching staff. With the most recent failed drug tests incriminating world renowned athletes Tyson Gay (USA), Asafa Powell (Jamaica), Sherone Simpson (Jamaica) and Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica), their future in the sport is unclear.

“With reference to the Anti-Doping Sport Act here in Trinidad and Tobago, I am advised that it is now law. It will definitely strengthen the infrastructure from a legislative standpoint. What is required now however, is the implementation of the NADO (National Anti-Doping Organisation) and the disciplinary committee which comes under the Act,” he explained.

When asked as to what may be some of the future strategies to be undertaken by the TTOC and other national sporting organisations to educate our athletes, Lewis revealed that he is currently in talks with the Ministry of Sport and several other local sporting firms to establish new avenues of anti-doping awareness.

“We are expectant that anti-doping awareness and implementation will find a place in the coming budget. The reality of this is that we must set guidelines and raise the public’s awareness, so that both athletes and coaches are well-informed on these worldwide developments,” he added.

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London—Former world 200m champion Ato Boldon says he has sympathy with athletes who fail drug tests by taking supplements. But former 100m Olympic and world champion Donovan Bailey insists there can be no excuses for athletes taking banned substances. Following sprinters Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell testing positive for banned drugs , Boldon said: “An athlete does not have a degree in pharmacology.” But Bailey said: “Athletes must know what is on the ‘banned’ list.” And he added it could be time to consider life bans for those caught taking banned substances.
The Canadian, who will be a BBC Radio 5 live summariser for the Anniversary Games and World Championships, said: “Ultimately it could be the new false start rule—it doesn’t matter who you are, if you false start out of the blocks, you’re out.”

It is not known which substance Gay, the fastest man in the world this year having run 9.75 seconds, has tested positive for—that should be confirmed after the result of analysis of his B sample.
Powell, who has clocked 9.88 this year, was tested at the national trials in June and returned an adverse finding for oxilofrine (methylsynephrine), a stimulant that boosts fat-burning. Boldon said it was important to make a distinction between blood-doping and “people trying to push the envelope with their supplements”. He added: “An athlete is trusting of the person he is buying the supplements from, or the coach, or whoever is providing these supplements. “When you listen to Tyson, he is saying he put his faith in someone and they let him down. That says to me, OK somebody told me you can take this and it will be fine, there will be nothing to cause you to have a positive test—and obviously that was not the case.”

Bailey, who won Olympic and world 100m gold medals, and has held the 100m world record, has a zero-tolerance policy on drug-taking. The 45-year-old said: “Every single athlete is given a banned list and they should look carefully down it. “When money is involved you are going to have cheats, people who push the envelope. We are in a sport where one thousandth of a second can be the difference between success and failure. “Athletes who take drugs tend to be insecure. They don’t believe they have the physical and/or mental capacity to do great things so they take another route—the pharmaceutical route, if you like.” On Gay claiming he was let down by someone he trusted, Bailey added: “You don’t go to an athletics meeting to watch the trainer, coach or masseur run a race. The onus is 100 per cent on the athlete to take responsibility for any substances going into their body.” Boldon suggested stimulants and supplements are here to stay and said it was naive to think they could be banned. He added: “I think the problem is in trying to push the envelope and get to the edge, several of the top names in the sport are falling over the edge.”

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DEFENDING champions Trinidad and Tobago suffered a stunning defeat when the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CASOVA) Junior Women’s Championships continued Monday night in Martinique.

The winners of six of the eight editions of this Under-20 tournament were not only beaten, they failed to win a set when they began their campaign against Martinique in the second match of the doubleheader.

After nosing out United States Virgin Islands (USVI) in a five-set thriller when the tournament served off on Sunday night, the hosts trounced T&T 25-11, 25-23, 25-22 in just 71 minutes.

Despite the defeat, T&T’s Reann Young was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points. The visitors also had an 11-5 advantage in blocked shots and the edge (20-19) in kills, but were dominated 13-4 in aces.

The victory assured Martinique a place in the sem-ifinals as only the cellar-placed of the five teams will not advance to    the knockout phase on Friday night.

After opposing 2009 champs Guadeloupe yesterday, T&T will face two-time runners-up Barbados from 5 p.m. today and conclude their round-robin campaign at the same time tomorrow against USVI.

After losing a heart-breaking five-setter against two-time runners-up Barbados in the first match of the tournament on Sunday, Guadeloupe recovered the following day to defeat the USVI 25-20, 30-32, 27-25, 25-22.

Guadeloupe will oppose Martinique two hours after today’s Barbados/T&T clash.

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Jose Quinones, President of the Peru Olympic Committee, arrives in Trinidad and Tobago this morning at 11 am for a 12.30pm meeting with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee(TTOC) at Olympic House as the  South American country bids to host the 2019 Pan American Games.
Quinones will meet with TTOC president Brian Lewis and other members of the TTOC  Executive.
The National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of  Chile, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela are in a close battle  to host the 2019 Pan Am Games.
The host of the 2019 Pan Am Games will decided at the next General Assembly of PASO, scheduled for October 2013 in Toronto.
Neven Ilic , President of the Chile National Olympic Committee and  his delegation was in Port of Spain , Trinidad  on the 4th July to make that country's case for the TTOC's vote.

• MONTEGO BAY

Three of Jamaica’s top athletes have denied taking banned substances after the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) confirmed that five of the country’s athletes have tested positive for illegal substances.

JADCO did not name the athletes but reports say they include former men’s 100m world record holder Asafa Powell, Olympic silver medallist Sherone Simpson and Central American and Caribbean Senior Games discus champion Allison Randall.

Although the three have refuted the claims that they have used Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED), the results mean that they have been provisionally banned from competition until they face a disciplinary hearing.

“I have never knowingly or willfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. My attitude towards doping regulations and testing is well-known and I willingly give samples whenever requested. This result has left me completely devastated in many respects,” said Powell in a statement.

“Personally, however, this result comes at a greater cost. I write this statement knowing fully that my family, friends, fans and country will be disappointed at this latest development. I am reeling from this genuinely surprising result”.

Powell and Simpson had tested positive for a stimulant ‘oxilofrine’ (methylsynephrine), while Randall had returned a positive for Hydrochlorothiazide, which is a diuretic that can be used as a masking agent for the use of other more powerful drugs.

Simpson was part of the Jamaican team that set a new national record 41.41 seconds in the 4x100m relays while taking silver at the London Olympic Games last year.

She said it was “a very difficult time for me.... As an athlete, I know I am responsible for whatever that goes into my body.”

Simpson has apologised to family, fans and sponsors.

“l am deeply sorry for any hurt or embarrassment this positive test may (have) caused”.

In protesting her innocence Randall said she could not afford the cost of PEDs and in an interview with the Jamaica Observer Sunday said she was “embarrassed and shocked” and had never heard of the substance before.

“I have not intentionally taken any banned substance. I have been vigilant with everything I consume, so I am extremely shocked and surprised by this incident,” said the American born, Randall, who is of Jamaican parents and is pursuing a Masters Degree.

“I do not have the desire, nor the means to cheat. I have never even seen steroids and don’t know the first thing about them. I am willing to undergo any other testing methods to prove my innocence”.

The news sent shock waves through the Jamaican sporting fraternity, came on the heels of American former World Championships double sprint champion Tyson Gay admitting to failing a drug test.

It also compounded the news that broke just over a month ago that multiple Olympic Games and World Championships champion Veronica Campbell Brown had also failed a drug test.

Another Jamaican athlete, Dominique Blake, was also banned for six years in June after failing a drug test at the National Senior Trials last year. She is set to appeal the sentence.

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School is out and it is that time of year that has somehow gotten to be known as “summer time” in our land of wet and dry seasons, and moms and dads are going to be busy trying to find “summer camps” to sign their children into.

While the convenience of knowing your child is being looked after and being mentally stimulated in some sort of structured fashion for anywhere between five and seven hours during the workday is a huge relief for the parents, for the child it is an opportunity to change focus from academics to something else, be it music, art and craft, culinary, language or athletics.

Selecting which camp would likely be based on something already known to be of interest to the child. For obvious reasons if your child enjoys playing football, more than likely a parent would put them in a football camp, likewise for swimming, squash or gymnastics.

It is a great opportunity for the youngster to focus on developing their technical intellectual acumen for their sport. Rather than competing for time against the usual victors of school/extra lessons/homework as is the norm during the academic term, the child can switch gears, exploring his potential in a setting outside of the classroom.

While I completely support the use of the July/August vacation time to further your child’s skills in the sport of their passion, I challenge parents to step out of this comfort zone as well for a week or two of this holiday period. Consider taking advantage of this time to expose them to physical activity outside of their main sport. Obviously, the direction in which you take this must be carefully considered as you do not want to enrol a child into something they will miserably endure and instill possible feelings of having misplaced your precious earnings but it is possible for a child passionate about cricket to enjoy spending their time riding a bike or swimming, the physical and mental benefits of which can be easily dismissed.

Most of the injuries that I see with youngsters, particularly teenagers, are related to overuse due to early specialisation. Just to be clear, early specialisation refers to the year-round participation of a child to one sport (jeeze! Just to write that out really emphasises how absurd that notion is for a young, developing body). It is further characterised by such participation at a high level of intensity early in life in both training and competition in order to enhance performance and be a recognised contender in the sport.

Over the past five years or so, the 10-year/ 10,000-hour rule which states that it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours of conscious effort towards practice to reach the highest level of performance has pretty much become common knowledge and accepted truth.

Daniel Coyle, the New York Times bestselling author of books such as The Talent Code, and Lance Armstrong’s War, focuses on this 10,000-hour rule in his blog posted June 7, 2013, called Forget 10,000 Hours—Instead, Aim for 10 Minutes.

In it he mentions the gathering of about 300 coaches, players, general managers, and talent-development experts located globally at the “Leaders in Performance” conference held in New York this year where it was criticised that the 10,000-hour rule has created somewhat of a mindless obsession amongst parents and coaches, seeing programmes that go as far as requiring athletes to clock in and out of their practice times like factory workers with time cards. Instead, they return some of the credit to a focus on quality and not just quantity to create excellence.

In remembering that balance of quality and quantity, keep in mind the counter-effects of early specialization in young athletes. High intensity training before reaching physical maturation increases the risk of injury significantly which can shorten their athletic career and impact on their long-term quality of life.

So, in exploring ways to occupy your child during the July/August vacation, consider making a deliberate effort to step away from their main sport not to hinder the progress but possibly promote it by reminding their muscles of the dynamic other ways it can work thereby returning some measure of balance.

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June 24 - Oil and gas giant BP will be an official partner for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, it was announced today.

The company will also become a partner of Team Scotland and Team England at Scotland's largest ever multi-sport event, and provide fuel for the official Games vehicles.

BP will also launch a mentoring scheme for 65 young people aged between 17 and 21 to develop their workplace skills.

The Games are due take place from July 23 to August 3, 2014, and will feature 6,500 athletes and officials from across the 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

BP is also a partner of the United States Olympic Committee and, it has been widely reported, signed a deal with the British Olympic Association which will be officially announced soon.

Jessica Ennis-Hill, London 2012 heptathlon champion, and one of BP's ambassadors during their sponsorship of the Olympics and Paralympics was delighted that they had signed up for Glasgow 2014.

"It is fantastic news that BP is to be a partner for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games," she said.

"It is important to the organisations as well as the athletes that such strong brands are there to give their support."

But BP's sponsorship of London 2012 was marred by controversy when there was worldwide calls from them to be dropped following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which claimed 11 lives, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, discharging an estimated 4.9 million barrels.

BP has since spent $14 billion (£9 billion/€11 billion) cleaning up the Gulf Coast but is still facing legal action over the disaster.

The company remains one of the biggest employers in the North Sea and their involvement with Glasgow 2014 has been welcomed by Scotland's Commonwealth Games and Sport Minister Shona Robison.

"As a world leading company with a big presence in Scotland, BP's support for the Commonwealth Games is extremely welcome," she said.

"BP now joins a growing list of major companies involved in making next year's event truly spectacular."

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Accused Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell is battling to salvage his career by blaming his positive drug test for the stimulant oxilofrine on a range of new nutritional supplements prescribed to him by a physiotherapist he has only been working with for two months.
In a dramatic twist to the drug scandal that has engulfed the sport, it can be revealed that Powell and Jamaican team-mate Sherone Simpson, who also claims to have been given the same supplements and failed a drug test for the identical substance, contacted the World Anti-Doping Agency and requested a police raid on the hotel where they have been staying with the physio, Canadian former athlete and American footballer Chris Xuereb, in Lignano, northern Italy.

After obtaining the necessary search warrant, Italian police arrived at the hotel on Sunday evening and searched the rooms of Powell, Simpson and Xuereb, before ­removing all supplements and medicines. Police said around 50 substances had been sent to a laboratory in Italy to test for the presence of performance-enhancing drugs.

Under Wada’s ‘strict liability’ rule, athletes have a responsibility for what they put in their bodies but Powell and Simpson could receive a reduced punishment if they can they show they unwittingly took supplements containing a banned substance.

According to Paul Doyle, the athletes’ United States-based manager, Powell and Simpson were expecting the arrival of the police but kept Xuereb in the dark about it.

“He [Xuereb] was brought in for questioning,” Doyle said. “I got a message from him afterwards, an angry message, saying he was detained for seven hours. He did use the word arrested but I don’t think he truly was arrested.”

Doyle says he has no reason to suspect any “mal-intent” on Xuereb’s part and that, like his athletes, he was probably unaware what the supplements contained. “I think that’s probably the case but, at the same time we couldn’t take any chances so we didn’t want to alert him or anything like that,” he said.

Powell and Simpson, part of Jamaica’s silver-winning 4x100m team at the London Olympics, were revealed to have tested positive on Sunday just hours after American sprinter Tyson Gay confessed to a failed drug test in a separate case.

Gay is still awaiting the results of a second test on a back-up urine sample but suffered the first serious consequence of his positive yesterday when his kit sponsor, Adidas, announced it was suspending its contract with him. A spokesman said: “We are shocked by these allegations.”

Gay, who has recorded the three fastest 100 metres times in the world this year but has withdrawn from next month’s World Championships in Moscow, has refused to provide details about the circumstances of his failed drug test or the name of the substance involved.

But Doyle, who has represented Powell and Simpson for their entire track careers, has chosen to publicly outline his athletes’ defence.

In an interview with Telegraph Sport, Doyle said: “Asafa and Sherone have been working with Wada to arrange this police raid, so to speak. Once we knew of the positive test, we realised that Asafa and Sherone were the only two athletes in the group who had been given new supplements by this phsyio that they are working with.

“Asafa’s had probably 150 to 200 clear tests in the past. He starts ­working with a new physio who gives him new supplements and all of a sudden he has a positive test in his first test. It’s obvious there’s no other reason why he would have tested positive other than something being in the new supplements he’s been taking. So we immediately asked Wada to get the police there to go in and search everything in the physio’s possession as well as everything in Asafa and Sherone’s possession.”

Doyle hired Xuereb in May to treat Powell for his persistent health issues, which flared up when he injured his hamstring in Australia in March.

According to Doyle, Powell was put on 17 supplements by Xuereb, three of which were administered by injection, though he insists all of them were legal. He added that Simpson had checked online that none of the ingredients was on the banned list, though he admitted that he did not seek independent medical verification.

He also conceded that Powell had flouted the rules of his coach, Stephen Francis, by not declaring to him what supplements he was taking.

Despite declining to go into detail about his case, Gay is also likely to claim that his positive drug test was the result of being given a substance he did not know was banned. He said on Sunday: “I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down.”

In an interview in USA Today, Gay’s long-term coach, Lance Brauman, denied that he was the person who betrayed the sprinter’s trust but would not reveal who Gay had been alluding to. Brauman said: “This person or people that he put his trust into had no affiliation with me or anyone else in my training group.”

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How the devastating news of multiple positive drug tests is being received by media and officials on the Caribbean island

Every so often, synchronised waves of happiness lasting a little under 10 seconds roll over Jamaica. And the island's hardships and tribulations, the grind and the gun, seem to soften and gently sigh. That is the spell Jamaica's most popular sport, athletics, can cast. Even the effect is as short-lived as a party trick.

Now, though, the spell risks being broken. When one of the country's most popular athletes, the reigning world 200 metres champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, was suspended last month after failing a drug test for a banned diuretic it was like a bolo punch to the nation's stomach. But to have five athletes – including Asafa Powell, the former 100m world record holder – test positive is the equivalent of being repeatedly hit over the head.

As Andre Lowe, the Jamaica Gleaner writer who broke the story, said: "Jamaica is in shock. There is a great sense of disbelief. Athletics has become the nation's sport in the past 10 years. Now people are grappling for an explanation and answers."

They are not the only ones. Whenever there is a positive drugs test it can be looked at two ways: that it shows that the system is working and the cheats are being exposed, or that the authorities are merely catching a handful of fish in a vast ocean.

In Powell's case – and that of Sherone Simpson, his training partner at the MVP (Maximising Velocity and Power) track club – there may be a third explanation: that they have unwittingly taken an illegal substance in a supplement they thought was clean. There are suggestions that they were provided with supplements by the Canadian trainer Chris Xuereb which they believed were "organic" and therefore OK.

A spokeswoman for Powell told the Guardian that the athlete's camp had arranged a search warrant with police to raid Xuereb's room and contacted the World Anti-Doping Agency to ensure that any supplements taken away for testing would be done so without contamination.

Even so, the fact that it is Powell – a god-fearing son of a clergyman who has been vehemently opposed to drugs in the past – who is in the spotlight is a shock to most Jamaicans. "He calls himself 'Jamaica's golden baby' and it's quite accurate," says Lowe. "Even though Usain Bolt is certainly the bigger star internationally, back home there is a sentiment and attachment to Asafa. Many people believe that he is the person who took Jamaica to the next level and started the dominance. He is probably the most loved Jamaican athlete."

Meanwhile the positive tests are adding up. On Monday the Olympic discus thrower Allison Randall became the third athlete to confirm a positive drugs test from the Jamaican trials in June. Two more names will follow in the coming days. The question is, how deeply does the country want to stir the pot and throw out what it finds?

The Jamaican athletics association president, Dr Warren Blake, insists the country is as strong-willed on tackling doping as any other. "We are redoubling our efforts and the results stand for themselves," he said. "People are being banned. If it means we have to erase some of the past records then we will. All these test results shows the world that you can go around trusting our athletes. They are among the most tested athletes in track and field."

In the past, criticisms of Jamaican athletes were seen as attacks on the nation's psyche and pride. But that is changing. Following Campbell-Brown's positive test, the Gleaner produced a withering editorial demanding the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (Jadco) do more.

"That Jamaica, five years ago, passed legislation to bring Jadco into existence was a declaration of the island's support for the fight against cheating in sports and a willingness to hold its own athletes to account," it wrote. "That is further underlined by the J$63.4m [£415,000] allocated to Jadco to do its work this fiscal year, in the face of the government's fiscal crisis and the IMF programme that demands economic austerity.

"What Jadco has, so far, failed to do is provide statistical analyses of its testing programme, generally, and say how often Jamaica's elite athletes are tested. Nor has it provided statistical comparisons between its efforts and other anti-doping agencies. Such data cannot be hard to collate. Jadco must do it as a matter of urgency, prepared to fix any gaps its findings might reveal. There would be no shame in that."

When the Guardian asked Dr Herb Elliot, the Jadco chairman, whether he knew how many out-of-competition tests had taken place in 2013 he insisted he did, but would not release the figures because, "I don't want our athletes to know whether it's 400 or 500 or whatever."

But sceptics believe the figure is nowhere near the numbers Elliot suggests, and that his lack of transparency suggests that words are not matched by actions. Elliot, though, disagrees.

"I know what we are doing is what is sensible," he added. "We are a small country. A poor country. It is very expensive to do tests but we did about 80 tests in our championships. The largest part of our programme is not testing, it is education. We have instructed our athletes to only take what is FDA [Food and Drug Administration]-approved in the US. The supplement industry is in a bad shape. There is no regulation there. And the label doesn't always reflect the contents."

There is a danger of generalisation when we talk of Jamaica. We have to remember that positive tests have come from different camps and athletes in different countries.

"We should not be quick to form conclusions that they knowingly take substances," warned Lowe. "I have spoken to quite a few athletes and it is getting to the point where they are going to be afraid to drink water. It is difficult for them."

But surely not that difficult. There is a simple solution: put your faith in hard work and genetics – not the lure of the magical potion.

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Since my election to the post of president of the Olympic Committee (TTOC), it has been a whirlwind of activity with no honeymoon period. The standard question I am asked is: “How has it been?” Truth be told it has gone very well indeed.

I have benefited no end from the guidance and example of past presidents such as Alexander Chapman, Douglas Camacho and Larry Romany and the mentoring of former TTOC secretary general Senator Elton Prescott.

Since 1946 a significant amount of time and energy has gone into building the Olympic Committee into a well-established and respected sport organisation with an impeccable reputation.

That it has been done on a volunteer and unpaid basis is to the eternal credit of all who would have made their contribution of time, energy, passion, experience, knowledge and skill.

As the TTOC focuses on the upcoming quadrennial there are new challenges and opportunities. Some of the issues facing the TTOC are old ones, some will be new and some haven’t as yet been envisaged.

But what remains through it all are the Olympic values, ideals and spirit and the principles of Olympism.

Each president may have their own style and way of seeing and doing things but the principles of Olympism must remain at the centre of it all.

In many ways it’s a balancing act to keep up with the times in order to carry out the mission and vision of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

According to the Olympic Charter: “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of mankind everywhere. With a view to encouraging the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”

The TTOC has always promoted Olympic values. What the TTOC has achieved to date provides the organisation with the strength and confidence to reach higher.

It can be problematic promoting high performance sport and sport for all as there are obvious and not so obvious contradictions that on the surface appear difficult to reconcile.

The focus of elite and high performance sport is to achieve the winning edge, while sport for all is about the enjoyment of participating in sport and physical activity.

To most people elite sport is associated, increasingly, these days with doping, illegal betting, match fixing etc.

As win at all cost seems to be the only objective as against the stated intention of sport for all.

It is a challenge but not an insurmountable one. Striving for excellence, respect, honesty, fair play and friendship are values that remain constant at both ends of the sport continuum—Elite and Sport for all.

Recently, I made the public pronouncement that a national objective for Olympic sports of ten gold medals by the year 2024 should be set.

This covers the Rio 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.

The impression in some quarters seemed to be that I was stating that the TTOC should place an emphasis on elite sport and the winning of medals.

For the avoidance of doubt, I am stating that we must set measureable and high goals in respect of the elite/high performance cauldron of Olympic sport.

What I am not saying is that it is or should be at the expense of sport for all and the principles of Olympism, the Olympic ideals, values and spirit.

The challenge of balancing the two—elite/high performance and the promotion of Olympism through sport for all is there to be met.

Brian Lewis is the president of the T&T Olympic Committee.



Visit www.ttoc.org for information on the TTOC and Olympism.

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July 15 - Chungwon Choue has been re-elected to serve a fourth four-year term as President of the World Taekwondo Federation at the organisation's general assembly in Puebla.

The 65-year-old South Korean held on to his seat at the top of the sport's world governing body unopposed after his only challenger Hong Moon-Jong, a member of South Korea's National Assembly, pulled out of the race for the position last week, despite controversially calling for a "single candidacy" – that would have seen Choue to step aside to give him a free run at the Presidency – earlier this year.

Although he ultimately ended up being the only Presidential candidate, Choue still asked the assembly to cast their votes rather than award him the position by default.

"I ask you to confirm me to remain in this position," Choue had said ahead of the election.

"Our organisation has grown too great to expect anything less."

Choue was first elected in 2004 when he replaced the controversial Kim Un-Yong after he was arrested on embezzlement and bribery charges in South Korea, which ultimately led to him being expelled from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Choue completed the year that Kim had left on his term and was re-elected in 2005 for a four-year mandate, and then another one in 2009.

Under Choue, taekwondo has grown to become a more global sport, evidenced in the retention of its place among the Olympic core sports after Rio 2016 having initially been believed to have been under serious threat.

Electronic protective vests and socks for scoring, along with instant video replays, helping eliminate the judging controversies which had overshadowed the tournament at Beijing in 2008, are just some of the innovations that have been adopted under Choue's leadership.

The scoring system was also changed ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, with fighters earning a maximum four points for a turning kick to the head, compared to a maximum two points for a kick to the head in Beijing.

The new scoring system left the competition wide open and led to some high-scoring bouts and come-from-behind victories as the eight gold medals in London were shared by eight different countries, making the sport one of the most universal on the Olympic programme.

Also elected as today's general assembly were 14 council members – 11 of which were re-elections – for four-year terms.

The three new members come from Mexico, Korea and Jordan.

The WTF general assembly took place as Chouewelcomed 1,500 athletes from 136 nations to the Mexican state to compete in the 2013 World Taekwondo Championships, which run until July 21.

"It is so fitting that we hold the first championships after the London Olympics here in Puebla to set a new standard for our sport," Choue told the 6,500 capacity crowd at the Centro Expositor of Puebla stadium.

"If you look around, you will see that Puebla is the new standard."

The championships will see three sessions take place each day and will be broadcast throughout 62 countries across the globe.

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Tyriq Horsford and Franklyn Stanislaus teamed up for gold in the boys’ 13-14 category at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Age-Group Track and Field Championships, in Curacao, late last month.
The Trinidad and Tobago athletes combined for 9,947 points in the heptathlon, while second-placed Curacao totaled 9,694. Bahamas (9,613) finished third.
Horsford’s contribution to the T&T total was 5,214 points, which earned him individual bronze, behind Puerto Rico’s Sebastian Romero (5,302) and Guadeloupe’s Enzo Hodebar (5,226).
Horsford produced a personal best 94.59 metres effort for second spot in the ball throw. He was also second in the shot put (14.61m), and finished third in the 80 metres hurdles (11.42 seconds).
Stanislaus finished eighth in the heptathlon with 4,733 points. His best showing came in the high jump, the T&T athlete clearing the bar at a personal best 1.79m.
Safiyah John finished just outside the medals in the girls’ 11-12 pentathlon. The T&T athlete copped fourth spot with 2,727 points. John was second in the high jump with a personal best 1.45m clearance.
Aquilla St Louis accumulated 3,686 points to finish 12th in the girls’ 13-14 heptathlon. She had the satisfaction, though, of topping the 80m flat field in a personal best 10.26 seconds.
T&T finished second overall at the Championships, earning a total of 27, 816 points. Bahamas (28,545) emerged victorious, while third spot went to Barbados (27, 756).
T&T finished third in the boys’ category and fourth among the girls. In the 13-14 age-group, the T&T boys and girls combined for third spot. And in the 11-12 age-group, T&T finished fifth.
In the mixed gender 13-14 4x100m relay, an exhibition event, St Louis, Horsford, Anya Akili and Stanislaus—running in that order—seized silver in 47.95 seconds. Bahamas (47.27) and St Kitts & Nevis (48.33) earned gold and bronze, respectively.

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Jonathan Farinha finished fifth in the men’s 200 metres final at the World Youth (under-18) Track and Field Championships, in Donetsk, Ukraine, yesterday. The Trinidad and Tobago sprinter got to the line in 21 seconds flat.
Jamaica’s Michael O’Hara clocked 20.63 to strike gold, forcing Brazilian Vitor Hugo dos Santos to settle for silver in 20.67.
Cuba’s Reynier Mena bagged bronze in 20.79 seconds, getting home ahead of Great Britain’s Thomas Somers (20.84), Farinha and Nigerian Ejowvokoghene Divine Oduduru (21.37). Chinese sprinters, Youxue Mo (21.42) and Zhe Li (21.54) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Farinha’s fifth-place finish was the best performance by a T&T athlete at the 2013 edition of the Championships. His teammates, Kayelle Clarke and Jeminise Parris were semifinalists.
On Saturday, Clarke was fourth in her semifinal heat and 14th overall in the women’s 200m in 24.54 seconds. And on Thursday, Parris clocked 13.89 seconds--a new personal best—for sixth spot in her women’s 100m hurdles semifinal heat and 16th spot overall.
Jamaica topped the medal table in Donetsk, capturing six gold medals and two bronze medals. Jamaica earned gold number six in the final event at the Championships, the men’s medley relay. Waseem Williams, O’Hara, Okeen Williams and Martin Manley combined for a one minute, 49.23 seconds clocking--a new world youth record.
Kenya finished second with four gold medals, three silver and four bronze, while third spot went to Ethiopia—three gold medals, three silver, two bronze.

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SEBASTIAN Navarro played a major role as TT mauled Jamaica 41-12 in their third-place play-off match of the North American Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Under-19 Cup at the Hasely Crawford Stadium yesterday.

TT had to settle for playing for third after suffering an upset defeat 24-20 at the hands of Barbados which resulted in Mexico advancing to the final.

Navarro, who had a try, was a perfect five-for-five in conversion and also scored two penalties. Anderson Joseph had two tries while Deion Smith and Jonathan Blackburn had one each. The twin-island team held a commanding 24-5 lead at the end of the first half.

Head coach Peter Bacchus said it was an excellent showing from his team.

“This was a very good performance from the boys especially after they suffered defeat against Barbados which prevented them from making the final. It took a lot mentally for the team to rebound and come out and dominate the Jamaicans. Despite the fact that we lost to Barbados, I still think we were the best team in the tournament,” said Bacchus.

He said the win would have done a lot for the players who were feeling a bit down in spirits as a result of not making the final.

“This win would go a long way for the players. Most of them are still in school and a school team will be heading to Canada for a development tour next month and this experience will help a lot. It was a different experience for them especially playing these opponents in front of their home crowd and I think this is good for the future of the sport in the country,” said the former national senior player.

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