NATIONAL shot put record holder Akeem Stewart imitated female compatriot Cleopatra Borel’s gold medal performance at the just-concluded Central American and Caribbean Games in Mexico when he won gold in the men’s shot put at the Mexican Open Para-Athletics Championships 2014, also in Mexico, yesterday.
Stewart’s winning distance of 18.70 metres at the Athletic Track of the National Center (CNAR) established a new world record for the F44 category, shattering the previous record of 18.38m
Similar to Borel, Stewart was also successful in defending the title, which he captured last year in Medellin , Colombia, with a throw of 17.49m.
Stewart, who also competes in open events, gained classification as a Para-athlete in the F44 category last year. The F44 category is for athletes with a disability to the lower extremities to of the leg. He can now qualify to compete at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee ( TTOC) president Brian Lewis and Secretary General Annette Knott will represent the national Olympic committee  at the 2nd Annual America's Olympic Movement Best Practices Symposium . The two day symposium hosted by the United States Olympic Committee( USOC) will be held 11 -12 December at the Conrad Hilton Brickell Avenue, Miami.

Hosted by the United States Olympic Committee( USOC)  for Olympic leaders  in the Western Hemisphere the symposium provides a forum for National Olympic Committees ( NOC) from the Americas to share best practices in key functional areas that are essential to the success of an Olympic Committee.

Lewis will present as part of the Moderated Panel Discussion on NOC Resource Allocation The TTOC  will speak about the Resource Allocation Conceptual Framework from the perspective of Trinidad and Tobago sport .

The  Moderated Panel and Question/Answer discussion on Resource Allocation Best Practices will comprise Brazil Olympic Committee, Canada Olympic Committee, Puerto Rico Olympic Committee , US Olympic Committee and Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee.

The Americas Best Practices Symposium on National Olympic Committee Management and Sport Performance is a collaboration between the Pan American Sports Organization, the United States Olympic Committee and Olympic Solidarity .

Over the two days Olympic leaders will exchange knowledge and experience through case-study presentations, panel discussions, question and answer sessions and  break-out discussions.

All eight Trinidad and Tobago judokas medalled at the 14th Annual Barbados International Judo Tournament at the Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex in Wildey, Barbados at the weekend.
T&T junior judokas won five gold, one silver and two bronze when the competition, that included 142 of the region’s top Judokas, converged in the “Land of the Flying Fish”.
The squad, coached by 2014 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games bronze medallist Christopher George and managed by Nigel Lopez, saw Jellion Jackman, Giovanni Lopez, Gabriella Wood, Xavier Jones and Luke Walk all walk away with gold medals while Joshua Ahwai captured silver and Adam Sui Butt and Adrian Aquan claimed one bronze apiece.
Six Caribbean powerhouses in judo converged in Barbados to test their skills at the Caribbean’s most important event on the region’s circuit. This meet, which is also used as a training ground for the region’s future Olympians, attracted countries such as St Lucia, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago and hosts Barbados.
Trinidad and Tobago, fielding one of the smaller teams with eight (8) judokas treated spectators to very exciting judo. The contingent of youngsters, many of whom were first time regional competitors, competed ferociously and earned a third place team finish overall.

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Alia Atkinson became the first black woman to win a world swimming title when she triumphed in the 100m breaststroke at the world short-course championships in Doha on Saturday as more records tumbled.

Jamaican Atkinson, 25, claimed the title and equalled Ruta Meilutyte's world record of 1min 02.36sec in the process - although under governing body FINA rules this still equates to a new record.

Meilutyte appeared on course for a successful defence of her title only for her rival to move on to the Lithuanian's shoulder at the final turn.

Atkinson then clawed her way down the final length before out-touching the 17-year-old by 0.10sec.

She was completely unaware of what she had done, staring up at the scoreboard with an air of resignation before it gradually dawned.

"Me?," she mouthed, pointing at herself before the enormity of her achievement was absorbed and so started the celebrations.

She told AFP: "I couldn't believe it! It came down to the same thing as the 50 and on the 50 I got out-touched so in my mind I went straight back to that.

"I just thought 'oh okay' and looked up at the board and it didn't really click yet and then it really started to click. It took a while!"

Atkinson's role at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Florida is to encourage greater involvement of different communities in swimming and to promote water safety.

"Hopefully my face will come out, there will be more popularity especially in Jamaica and the Caribbean and we'll see more of a rise and hopefully in the future we will see a push," Atkinson mused.

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Trinidad and Tobago Olympic sprinter Njisane Phillip had a disappointing day at the London leg of the cycling World Cup yesterday. Phillip who was fourth in the event at the London 2012 Olympics, did not get past the 1/16 finals.
Phillip, who had health issues this year, was just the 23rd fastest man in the Flying 200 qualifiers out of 41, in a time of 10.260 seconds. Edward Dawkins of New Zealand was top of the field in 9.975. Phillip’s low placing put him in a 1/16 rideoff with the second fastest qualifier, Robert Forstermann of Germany (10.008). Forstermann was the winner over three laps, with Phillip eliminated. Forstermann eventually placed eighth after the four-man race for fifth to eighth places.
On Saturday, Phillip’s teammate Kwesi Browne got to the repechage stage of the keirin where he was eliminated by Japan’s Kazunari Watanabe in a close race.

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“We don’t support sport. We support events.”
Brian Lewis’ comment in the context of the overwhelming turnout and the peculiar behaviour of many fans for Tuesday’s do-or-die women’s World Cup qualifier was prompted by my lamentation over the preoccupation with fete, fete, fete before, during and immediately after the 1-0 loss to Ecuador that ended the dream of the national team.
It was during a commercial break of an interview with the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic on Friday’s “Sporting Edition” on TV6 that the point was being developed.
There’s very little about the Trini way of doing things that should shock or bewilder anymore. Still, this slavish obsession with inane, repetitive, re-heated trash to the extent that the football almost appeared to be getting in the way of the ragga-ragga, yabba-dabba doltishness leaves you to wonder.
Barely had the shrill blast of the referee’s final whistle died down than the whole cacophonous nonsense was pumped up to the max by the house DJ. Surely, though, this was the moment, notwithstanding the crushing disappointment of defeat when so, so close to a first-ever appearance at a senior Women’s World Cup finals, to appreciate the efforts of both teams then going through vastly different emotional experiences out on the field.
Most of the Trini girls were inconsolable, not least goalkeeper Kimika Forbes. So outstanding between the uprights in helping her side reach this far, she will, like Michael Maurice 25 years and 13 days earlier, re-live that moment in second half stoppage time when indecision coming off her line created an opportunity for Monica Quinteros to get the touch that proved enough for the South Americans to steal the victory and claim the 24th and final spot at next year’s tournament in Canada.
Maylee Attin-Johnson, outstanding throughout the game with her energy in battling for the ball in midfield and urging on her teammates, fulfilled her leadership responsibilities in shaking hands with all three officials on the field before returning to the company of her fellow players.
In stark contrast, the Ecuadoreans could barely restrain their jubilation. There were no more than 20 or so supporters of the visitors among the 22,000-plus at the Hasely Crawford Stadium but almost all of them enjoyed the moment to the fullest. Smiles, tears of joy and fulsome embraces among players, support staff and those few fans put the cap on a memorable night for the women’s game of that country.
Had the efforts of both teams been really appreciated, they would have been warmly applauded at the end of it all and maybe, just maybe, the Trinidad and Tobago players would have found an audience receptive enough to allow them a chance to walk around the athletic track and acknowledge the presence of the fans, especially as none of them had ever before experienced such an atmosphere in senior national colours.
Even if Ecuador had completely ruined the occasion for the hosts by virtue of that solitary goal, they deserved to be acknowledged as worthy competitors, hanging on tenaciously before making Trinidad and Tobago pay the ultimate price for failing to convert the handful of clear-cut chances that came the home side’s way.
I was thinking of using the phrase about Ecuador “spoiling the party” by their victory. However that clearly was not the case as the dancehall extravaganza was on in full swing, complete with hands in the air, legs in the air and posteriors rotating even as the Trinidad and Tobago players eventually trudged off back into the dressing room, their drooped shoulders and forlorn expressions completely at odds with the fete that was not only in full swing, but continued out along Wrightson Road and across to the limers’ ground zero: Ariapita Avenue.
Defeat in a sporting event is not a disaster, nor should it trigger a violent reaction. Surely though it should matter...at least a little bit. Shouldn’t it?
Lewis’ contention that we are not a society that really supports sport but merely celebrates the moments as isolated events was in response to my assertion that we may want to win very badly, but losing isn’t something that hurts so much that we vow to do whatever it takes to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
At the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, where Trinidad and Tobago made an historic first appearance, a hard-fought goalless draw in the opening game with Sweden was followed by another battling performance against England where the favourites were frustrated for 82 minutes before Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard eased English discomfort for a 2-0 win.
It was a result that had Trinis chipping down the Western Main Road in St James in celebration of the defeat.
If losing doesn’t really matter, from where does the never-say-die will to win come?

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