media_artricles :: 2017

Baptiste looking forward to World Championships campaign

VETERAN TRINIDAD and Tobago sprinter Kelly-Ann Baptiste is looking forward to the IAAF World Track and Field Championships, which will get going today at London, England.

In an interview, posted yesterday, on the Track Alerts website, the 30-year-old said, "I feel very good, I feel very confident. All the hard work has been done and at this point it's just to be confident, trust the coaches, trust what you have been doing and have fun and execute." Baptiste has a total of two bronze medals at the World Championships level __ in the women's 100 metres in Daegu, South Korea in 2011 and in the women's 4x100m relay in Beijing, China two years ago.

She acknowledged, "Last year wasn't that great for me. I would not say I'm not at my best, I've had better seasons, but I'm very close to it. 

"I've been (at major meets) for a very long time so it's just that experience, and all that accumulates over time." Baptiste is among a group of 23 TT athletes who will be in action during the August 4-13 event. 

Among the men are Keston Bledman and Emmanuel Callender (100 metres), Kyle Greaux and Jereem Richards (200 metres), Machel Cedenio, Lalonde Gordon and Renny Quow (400 metres), Mikel Thomas and Ruebin Walters (110m hurdles). 

In the men's 4x100 metres relay, Bledman, Callender, Kyle Greaux, Moriba Morain and Dan-Niel Telesford will comprise the team while, in the men's 4x400 metres relay, Cedenio, Gordon, Quow, Jereem Richards, Jarrin Solomon and Joshua St Clair will feature. 

Double Olympic medallist, javelin thrower Keshorn Walcott, will be seeking his first medal at the World Championships stage. 

Among the women Baptiste, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Semoy Hackett and Khalifa St Fort will be running in the 100m, while Ahye will also be competing in the 200m along with Hackett and Kayelle Clark. Domonique Williams will participate in the 400m, Deborah John was a late inclusion and will run in the 100m hurdles, while Sparkle McKnight will face the starter in the 400m hurdles. 

The women's 4x100m relay team will comprise Baptiste, Ahye, Hackett, St Fort, Clark and Kamaria Durant. 

This year marks the 16th edition of these Championships and various pundits, including 1976 Olympic 100m gold medallist Hasely Crawford have already weighed in on their expectations for the team competing this year. 

The general consensus is that medalling in any track and field event is no easy task however with hard work and determination anything is possible. It is a competition that sees Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt as the main attraction however Trinidad and Tobago will surely be looking to do their absolute best at the event. 

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