As we count down the days to the end of 2023, the sports fans among us are already thinking about the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. And with each passing month, the focus on the world’s biggest sporting spectacle will surely intensify.
There is something very special about the Olympics. Even those with little or no interest in sport are captivated by the battle for supremacy among the fastest, strongest, and smartest athletes on the planet.
Paris 2024 is an important event for Trinidad and Tobago. It takes on even greater significance because of our performance at the last Olympics, Tokyo 2020—actually staged in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first time since 1992, this country did not appear on the medal table.
Performance, however, cannot only be measured in medals. It is therefore crucial that we acknowledge those who emerged from pandemic darkness to shine at Tokyo 2020. Just qualifying to compete at the Olympics is a monumental achievement in itself. So, we cannot define success strictly by precious metal. That would be a slap in the face for Nicholas Paul and his teammates.
Paul finished sixth in the men’s sprint, while fellow cyclist Kwesi Browne secured the ninth spot in the men’s keirin. Jereem Richards led the way in track and field, finishing eighth in the men’s 200 meters final. Michelle-Lee Ahye and the late Deon Lendore just missed out on championship race lanes in the women’s 100 and men’s 400, respectively. They were both ninth.
Tyra Gittens was the tenth-best in the women’s long jump, while Portious Warren grabbed the 11th spot in the women’s shot put. And the men’s 4×400 team got home eighth in their final.
The T&T combination of Lendore, Richards, Dwight St Hillaire, and Machel Cedenio actually had a realistic shot at a podium finish in the 4×4. However, a leg injury sustained by third leg runner St Hillaire effectively ended the T&T medal bid. St Hillaire, though, gave his heart and soul for the Red, White, and Black, completing his lap of the track despite the injury. What a performance!
St Hillaire was a big winner on that day. While he has no medal to show for his Herculean effort, the Tobago quarter-miler proved himself to be a proud patriot, risking it all for his country… risking it all for you and for me.
When you take into account St Hillaire’s fighting spirit, together with top-ten showings from Paul, Browne, Richards, Ahye, Lendore, and Gittens, Tokyo 2020 will go down in history as a successful Olympic outing for Team TTO.
We must, however, desire more. At this point, Paul looks like the best bet for a T&T podium finish in Paris. Richards and 2012 Olympic men’s javelin champion Keshorn Walcott would fancy their chances as well.
Government, corporate T&T, and the general public must provide the required support, not only for the Paris 2024 aspirants but also for the young up-and-comers already working tirelessly on the Road to LA 2028.
