media_artricles :: 2013

Gordon, Borel cop TTOC Awards

WORLD Champion Jehue Gordon copped the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee Sportsman of the Year for 2013 at the 16th annual TTOC Awards Ceremony at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain on Sunday.

Gordon ran away with the top Male award after his golden run in the men’s 400m hurdles finals in a national record and world leading time of 47.69 seconds at the 14th IAAF World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Moscow, Russia, on August 15.

President Anthony Carmona presented the trophy to Gordon while another track and field athlete Cleopatra Borel took the Sportswoman of the Year honour for the fifth year after retaining the women’s shot put crown at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior gold medal in Morelia, Mexico, on July 7 with a distance of 17.56m and also represented T&T at her fifth World Championships in Russia.

Borel accepted her award from Reema Carmona — wife of President Carmona, to add to the awards she earned in 2006, 2007 and 2010. Gordon won the Sportsman title for the first time was the Junior Sportsman of the Year in 2009. The accolade comes after he won four awards at the annual Spirit of Sports Awards (SOSA), hosted by the Ministry of Sports on Saturday. The 22-year-old collected the Male Athlete, Consistent Performer, Breakthrough Performance and Sports Performance honours.

Swimmers swept the other individual awards as Shanntol Ince walked away with the Junior Sportswoman of the Year while Dylan Carter took the Junior Sportsman of the Year trophy. Ince captured four gold medals at the Youth Parapan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October while Carter sprinted to silver 50m butterfly event at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in August. Carter was absent and George Borde collected the award on his behalf. The US-bases swimmer was also named the Junior Male Athlete of the Year at the SOSA Awards. World championships bronze medallist George Bovell 111 was named Sports Personality of the Year. Edward “Eddy’ Hart was named the recipient of the Alexander B Chapman Award. Bovell secured bronze in the men’s 50m freestyle at the World Long Course Swimming Championships in Barcelona, Spain, and also finished second overall in the FINA World Cup. Speaking after the receiving his award, Gordon said he was surprised and humbled. “I am pleasantly surprised to the highlighted as the Male Athlete of the year. Sports in Trinidad and Tobago has become so competitive that you are not even sure as to who is deserving of this esteeming position in the sporting fraternity. I am humbled to receive this award because I know how much we as athletes have to sacrifice to compete at a competitive level.” The UWI St Augustine student also thank God for his ability. “I want to most definitely thank God for this amazing talent that he has bestowed me. I want to also thank my sponsors Adidas and B-Mobile, my friends, coaches family, the Ministry of Sports, the NAAA, the members of the TTOC for the love and support shown.”

Borel was visibly shocked when she was announced at the Sportswoman of the Year. “I felt really shocked to have once again win this award. In my opinion I did not have a great year. I was plagued with some injuries and by the grace of God I was able to keep plugging away and be able to do what I enjoying doing best representing Trinidad and Tobago.”

Triple Olympic medallist Richard Thompson delivered the feature address.

Honours Roll at TTOC:

Sportsman of the Year- Jehue Gordon (Track and Field)

Sportswoman of the Year- Cleopatra Borel (Track and Field)

Junior Sportswoman of the Year- Shantol Ince (Swimming)

Junior Sportsman of the Year- Dylan Carter (Swimming)

Sports Personality of the Year- George Bovell 111 (Swimming)

Alexander B Chapman Award- Edward “Eddy’ Hart.

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