Paul honoured by Pan Am award nomination

NATIONAL cyclist, Nicholas Paul, has been nominated for the inaugural Pan American Sports Awards in the category of Best Male Athlete.

Paul’s double-gold in the Men’s Sprint and Team Sprint (with compatriots Njisane Phillip, Keron Bramble and Kwesi Browne) at the 2019 Pan American Games, in Lima, Peru, in August, backed by his world record-breaking (9.1 seconds) Flying 200m performance, at the Pan American Track Cycling Championships one month later, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, earned the 21-year-old a deserving nomination. Additionally, Paul was also a part of the national Team Sprint squad which successfully defended its title at the Championships, setting a new meet record in the process.

“I feel great to be recognised for my achievements from the regional body and it’s an honour,” said Paul yesterday. “It’s been a tough but rewarding journey thus far and I am pleased with my progress. I’m happy to be able to represent TT at this level. Hard work pays off all the time.”

Paul will be going up against regional athletes: Grenadian Anderson Peters (2019 World and Lima men’s javelin champion); Cuban 130kg wrestler Mijain Lopez (three-time Olympic, five-time World and Pan Am and Lima champion); Brazilian artistic gymnast Francisco Barretto (four-time Pan Am Games, three-time Lima champion) and Venezuelan male fencer Ruben Limardo (2012 Olympic, four-time Pan Am Games and 2019 Lima champion) for the esteemed award. He was also the only TT athlete nominated in a category.

Paul, however, needs assistance from his sports fans to guarantee capture of the first-ever Pan Am Best Male Athlete accolade. To vote for the rising national cyclist, log on to www.panamsports.org/vote