media_artricles :: 2015

Solid T&T

Manager pleased with overall showing

“A very good meet for us.” This is how team manager Dexter Voisin described Trinidad and Tobago's 2015 IAAF World Championship experience, here in Beijing, China.

Voisin told the Express his assessment was based not only on the men's 4x400 metres silver and women's 4x100m bronze.

“Also the number of finalists and semi-finalists we had.”

Michelle-Lee Ahye and Kelly-Ann Baptiste created history when they both qualified for the women's 100m final. It was the first time two women from T&T progressed to the same World Championship final. Ahye finished fifth in the championship race, while Baptiste was sixth.

There was a top-eight finish too for Machel Cedenio, the 19-year-old quartermiler earning seventh spot in the men's 400m final.

Cleopatra Borel finished 12th in the women's shot put. Semoy Hackett reached the semi-final round in the women's 100m and 200m events. Reyare Thomas was a semi-finalist in the women's 200m. In the women's 400m hurdles, Sparkle McKnight reached the penultimate round. And both Lalonde Gordon and Renny Quow progressed to the men's 400m semis.

“The 4x4 men over the years,” Voisin told the Express, “have become our strength, always the ones on paper to come through at these major championships. What they displayed here in the individual event was a great achievement. We would have liked to see three going through to the final. That didn't happen, but we had one finalist in Cedenio. It wasn't a bad Championships for the quartermilers.”

The T&T manager was excited about the silver run in the men's 4x400m final, Quow, Gordon, Deon Lendore and Cedenio teaming up for a two minutes, 58.20 seconds national record clocking.

“It was very commendable. You could have seen where each one performed his duty, and there was no let up at all. Congrats to the whole team. Everybody put in their piece and established a new national record. At no point in time anybody showed any fear. We couldn't ask for anything better. Of course the gold is always a better colour, but silver is acceptable.”

Jarrin Solomon played his part as well, running in the qualifying round. He was replaced by Cedenio for the final. Voisin heaped praises on Baptiste, Ahye, Thomas and Hackett--the four women who bagged sprint relay bronze on Saturday in a national record time of 42.03 seconds--as well as 17-year-old Khalifa St Fort, who ran the anchorleg in the qualifying round, and the sixth member of the squad, Kamaria Durant.

“As we can see, the girls definitely have matured, and this I think is one of the major factors concerning this bronze medal they won. The women have been knocking on the door for a couple years well.

“We had a little setback with Kelly-Ann and Semoy where they were absent (through drug suspensions). It's very good to see that they came back and were basically on top of their game. They started off their season pretty good, and with regards to Semoy she came along every meet she ran, and she really did some great performances here at these Championships.”

Training under the guidance of 1997 men's 200m world champion Ato Boldon, the sprint relay women grew in self-belief. “They understood that they had the potential to do well,” said Voisin. “They were a team on the track, off the track. The first time I've seen a team gel so much. You saw them during the warm-up phases always together. They were moving as a team, and I think that was the major factor for their success at these Championships.

“Generally, the women have improved over the years and I think they will only grow from strength to strength. The future is very bright. We saw young Khalifa St Fort coming onto the senior team and performing her role in the opening round. She did a great job and is one of the persons we have to look for in the future. She is in good hands with Ato Boldon.”

While there was cause for celebration in the T&T camp here in Beijing, there were disappointments as well. Jehue Gordon has been struggling with a sports hernia this season, and the defence of his men's 400m hurdles title did not go past the opening round. Injury cut short Keston Bledman's challenge in the men's 100m, the double Olympic sprint relay silver medallist bowing out in round one.

Mikel Thomas tumbled out of his men's 110m hurdles first round heat. And Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott did not progress to the men's javelin final.

“We look at Keshorn Walcott's performance for the year, hitting the 90-metre mark (90.16m). He and his coach (Ismael Lopez Mastrapa) expected great things at these Championships. I know he had a setback with his ankle going into Pan American Games, but since his arrival in Beijing there was no complaint about the ankle.

“Words cannot express how Keshorn's feeling right now. He's very disappointed,” Voisin ended, “because he was hoping to put on a good display at the Championships.”

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