media_artricles :: 2016

Borel claims ownership of her Olympic experience

As the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) prepares to mark the 100-day count down to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games this August, champion shot putter Cleopatra Borel is clear as to her approach in the run up to the prestigious championships.

"I am taking responsibility for my (Rio 2016) Olympic experience and I am doing my very best," says the five-time First Citizens Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year recipient.

Borel said: "That's all I can do. I can't control anything else. I'm going to do my very best and where that puts me, I'll be happy with it, because I worked extremely hard to get to this point. My coach and I are getting ready for World Indoors and we have a solid plan going into Rio. So based on how things have gone thus far, I am really happy.

"This year, I am working on my strength and trying to make sure that I do the things that I do well…that I am doing them great. So I am working on my technique and all the little things that make my shot-put goals go a little bit further. I'm working on being the best Cleo I can be, not really trying for perfection, but for being the best at what I do, well."

Borel, the 2015 Pan American gold medal winner, is in Havana, Cuba, at the Pan American Stadium, as part of an annual training camp for local athletes. London 2012 gold medal winner Keshorn Walcott; Shakeel Waithe (javelin), Quincy Wilson (discus and shot put) were also there with coach Ishmael Mastrapa Lopez.

The Sportswoman of the Year said being the first woman to bring home a Pan Am gold medal was undoubtedly her biggest accomplishment last year.

"2015 was a good year for me, more so because I felt I became more and more consistent. I've been working on my consistency so that when I get to Rio, God's willing, it's going to be easier for me. I spent the last four years working extremely hard, so that the actual Olympics will be easy in terms of training hard and competing easy.

"I am looking forward to being consistent; being consistent technically and going out there and doing my best. In 2015, I was really happy to have a couple meets over 19 metres: to win some meets; to have my best throw of 19.26 metres; my best throw in a number of years," Borel recalled.

She added: "I retain my top ten ranking in the world and to win the Pan American Games (gold medal) was just tremendous. It took a lot of work from me, my coach, and the entire team. It was just tremendous. I'm really happy that things are coming together and the work of a lot of people and support of a lot of people is really coming together. 2015 was important to my career because when you are at this stage of the game you need to be consistent. It's really tough for me to go through a bad year and keep going. So 2015 was so great, it set me up mentally to take on 2016 and to do whatever is necessary, from a legal stand point of course, to perform well in 2016. And, it really helps with your motivation, just being able to go out there and do your best."

About her FC Sportswoman of the Year nomination and ultimate win, the shot putter said no one should underestimate the power of the award. It felt really good, she said, to still be in contention for the top female athlete award, citing that it had become a lot more competitive over the years.

She recalled being at the elite athlete gym at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Woodbrook, when she received the call about the nomination. Borel said an expression of surprise and feeling of delight gripped her on hearing the news, citing 2015 was a good year for accomplishments among women in sport.

Asked if she had commissioned the building of a cabinet to house her awards, the champion shot putter replied, laughing, "I have not built a cabinet to hold my new trophies. I will like to have a house first. Home ownership is something that I have been attempting to achieve for a very long time.

"First I have to own a home and then I can build a cabinet to hold trophies. When I received word that I was nominated for the FC Award, I was grateful that I did not retire after the 2012 Olympic Games, because really since then, I've had some of my best times in track and field. So, I really enjoy going to the awards ceremonies because it's really a time to take a moment and reflect on the year. Sometimes as athletes, we forget about past accomplishment and we're always looking forward and grinding and trying to get better for the next meet."

Describing herself as a "very forward looking athlete" Borel said, awards ceremonies gave her and her entire team the opportunity to look back and be grateful, as it was important to retain gratitude on life's journey.

"When life and training is difficult, it motivates you, but it also helps you to keep going. I have learnt to have a lot of fate in my abilities, fate in who I am and where I come from and all the amazing things and people that are behind me and are supporting me; and all the knowledge that if you put your mind to something and you are willing to do the work and work at it, you can really accomplish anything," Borel said.

She continued: "For me it's incredible because I did not have that kind of fate prior to the last half of my career. I always worried about my future and different things. But now I know that I can take the discipline and work ethic that I've developed in track and field into other areas of my life, post (my) track and field career."

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