TT 4x400m men lead World Indoor charge

THE MEN’S 4x400m team will lead Trinidad and Tobago at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, from today until Sunday.

However, the TT athletes may not arrive in time to compete as a snow storm is currently affecting TT’s travel arrangements in the United Kingdom.

The meet starts today, but the TT athletes would not be in action until tomorrow. Hopefully the TT athletes will arrive in Birmingham on time to compete.

At the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Oregon, USA the TT team won two bronze medals. Deon Lendore copped bronze in the men’s 400m event, while Lendore, Jarrin Solomon, Lalonde Gordon and Ade-Alleyne Forte took bronze in the men’s 4x400m final.

First on the track for TT tomorrow will be Michelle-Lee Ahye and Kelly-Ann Baptiste in the women’s 60-metre heats from 6.35 am TT time. Ahye and Baptiste will try to qualify for the semifinals later in the day at 2.50 pm, followed by the finals at 5.38 pm.

Cleopatra Borel will be the first TT athlete competing for a medal when she lines up in the women’s shot put final from 4.10 pm tomorrow.

Lendore, Gordon and Asa Guevara will face the starter in the men’s 400m heats at 7.20 am tomorrow. The trio will aim to qualify for the finals on Saturday.

The six-man 4x400m team of Lendore, Gordon, Guevara, Machel Cedenio, Renny Quow and Jereem Richards will compete in the heats on Saturday, before lining up in the final on Sunday. The quartet of Richards, Cedenio, Gordon and Solomon won gold for TT at the 2017 World Championships in London.

Sprinters Emmanuel Callender and Keston Bledman will fly the TT flag in the men’s 60m event on Saturday in the heats. The semifinals and final will also take place on Saturday.

The lone participant for TT in the men’s 60m hurdles will be Mikel Thomas. Thomas will line up in the heats on Saturday, aiming for a place in the semifinals and finals on Sunday. Charles Joseph will serve as the TT coach, Ephraim Serrette is the manager and Nicole Fuentes is the massage therapist.

The Championships conclude on Sunday.