media_artricles :: 2015

Olympic champ James may run at Nationals

Reigning Olympic men's 400 metres champion, Kirani James could be among the athletes on show at the June 26-28 NGC-Sagicor NAAA Open Championships.

At yesterday's NAAA Championship Month launch, at the Radisson Hotel Trinidad, in Port of Spain, Games Chairman Allan Baboolal told the media about James' possible participation in the men's 4x400m relay.

"We are hoping to have Grenada here, and we are hoping that part of the four or six people would be Kirani James. This year we are going to focus on the relays. Once we have more than three countries, it will serve as a qualifier from the IAAF's point of view. So if a country comes here and qualifies either for the Pan American Games or the World Championships, it's going to be valid."

NAAA president Ephraim Serrette said the individual men's 400m event will be one of the highlights of the 2015 Open Championships.

"Interestingly, the second and third fastest times posted in the world this year-44.36 and 44.41-are by Trinidad and Tobagonians, in Machel Cedenio and Deon Lendore."

In addition to NGC and Sagicor, the Open Championships will benefit from the contributions of Petrotrin, Phoenix Park Gas Processors Ltd, and Blue Waters.

Championship Month gets going with the June 6-7 NGC-NAAA Junior Championships. The NGC-NAAA Juvenile Championships will be staged on June 13 and 14. And the NGC-NAAA Combined Events Championships take place on June 20 and 21.

T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) President Brian Lewis spoke at yesterday's launch. He noted the absence of the Ministry of Sport and The Sports Company (sporTT).

"Given the importance of track and field to sport in Trinidad and Tobago, I find it a bit disquieting that on a number of occasions when I come to speak at this all-important launch, I end up speaking last. When I look at the programme, I see that sporTT and the Ministry of Sport are supposed to speak after the president of the TTOC. That invariably does not happen."

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