media_artricles :: 2014

Bledman Ahye shine at Southern Games

Double Olympic medallist Keston Bledman and sprint star Michelle Lee Ahye entertained the crowd yesterday at the Southern Games at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, winning their respective men’s and women’s 100 metres Invitational events while world champion Jehue Gordon placed fifth in the men’s 400m. Bledman did not disappoint though, easily winning the men’s race in 10.55 seconds. Jamaica’s Sheldon Mitchell placed second in 10.65 while Antoine Adams’ 10.813 was good enough for third place. Ahye led a clean sweep by T&T sprinters in the women’s event, crossing the line first in 11.48 while teammates Kamaria Durant and Kayelle Clarke placed second and third in 11.76 and 11.95, respectively.

Gordon, the 400m hurdles world champion, recorded a time of 49.50 to finish fifth in the men’s 400m invitational event. Winning was American Atrte Collins in 48.52 with Jamaican Oral Thompson in second in 48.86 and Tyler Francis of T&T in third in 49.14. Fourth was Sharif Webb (USA) in 49.42. T&T did taste more succes in cycling when Jude Codrington secured T&T’s first gold medal of the Games clocking 39.69 in the 500m International final. Second place went to Columbia’s Diego Pena while T&T’s Kerron Bramble placed third. The Games, which began yesterday, is celebrating 50 years in existence and is being dedicated to T&T’s first olympian Rodney Wilkes. Khalid Hassanali, president of the Southern Games made a strong statement to the start the two-day sporting event saying: “The Guaracara Park needs to be upgraded to make it safer for anyone utilising the facility.”

Hassanali, noting that the Park was host to a wide range of sporting and cultural activities throughout the year, cited the car park as one area in need of improvement. “There is always room for improvement. The grounds at Guaracara Park are lit up in the night and apart from supporting the Southern Games for two days in the year, we also have cricket and football and a lot of night activities that take place here,” he said. “Guaracara Park will continue to be a mecca in south for these types of activities but when there is night cricket, you can’t find a place to park outside,” he continued, adding that the park is also host to many cultural events. “The grounds are in reasonable condition and if there is a drive to have more activity here more frequently, then there may need to have safe attendance and therefore upgrading the accommodations here could be one way of improving the facility,” he said. The Southern Games continues today with a host of events including the 800m, 200m and 5,000m track events and the 1,500, 2,000 and match sprint finals.

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