Source: www.guardian.co.tt

By: Clayton Clarke

The men’s 100m will again hold the spotlight at the rescheduled Sagicor Open Track and Field Championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo next weekend. Chairman of the NAAA Game Committee Alan Baboolal said the current form of this country’s top sprinters will be fierce:

“Because of the recent performances of our 100m athletes (Keston Bledman, Richard Thompson, Aaron Armstrong, Emmanuel Callender and Darryl Brown), it is very difficult to determine who are the top three to represent T&T at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea from August 27 and September 4. They will also be competing to make up the six for the relay team. Therefore, we are asking all the athletes to participate.”

The men’s 100m finals are set for Saturday at 7.25 pm with the women’s finals ten minutes earlier. Baboolal said there was added interest by foreign athletes to participate as the meet is the last opportunity for those seeking to attain the qualifying standards for the World Championships. “There seems to be a rush for athletes looking for the last window of opportunity.” 

Baboolal confirmed that eight countries have submitted entries. “We have a request from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St Kitts/Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Zimbabwe, USA, Cayman Islands and Jamaica.”

The NAAA secretary added that he is hoping the foreign competitors would draw spectators to the Hasely Crawford Stadium. The Championships were originally carded for June 24 to 26 but were pushed back following delays in the laying of the new track at the Stadium.  

Baboolal explained that NAAA is looking to select a team of about 25 athletes and the selection committee will meet on the night immediately following the end of the championships to pick the team ahead of the August 15 deadline issued by the International Association of Athletic Federation (IAAF).

“It is going to be a long evening because we have to send in our entries the next morning as Monaco is six hours ahead of T&T. We have up to about 6 pm to do so (12 midnight in Monaco),” said Baboolal.

He also indicated that with the National Championships coming less than two weeks before the World Championships, the NAAA will be hard pressed to get bookings to South Korea.

“We would have to be scrambling for (airline) tickets following the selection of the team as the contingent is expected to fly out to Daegu between August 16 and 18.”