Olympic dreams on the line for TT athletes as June 29 deadline nears

IN a race against the clock to provide the avenue for local athletes to earn qualification for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, president of the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) George Comissiong said the local association is in constant contact with the Ministry of Health to arrange local meets.

Several local athletes have not made the qualification standard for the Olympics, which runs from July 23-August 8.

The Olympics have been postponed for a year because of the covid19 pandemic.

Since March 2020, sport in TT has been affected with several events being cancelled or postponed. Track and field is no exception as for one year there were no events locally.

The NAAA held a few events earlier this year to give local athletes competition, but those events were not IAAF approved. Local-based athletes bank on events in TT to book spots at the Olympics. The Annual National Open Championships is one such event held in June. However, that meet is uncertain because of the pandemic.

Many TT athletes have already booked a spot in Tokyo including 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott and long jumper Andwuelle Wright. Men’s 200m runner Jereem Richards is another athlete heading to the Olympics.

In an interview with Newsday, Comissiong said, “The athletes on the outside having a pretty good (season)…some of the senior ones doing pretty well.”

Concerning the local-based athletes, he said, “The challenge is really those persons who are at home right now who are seeking to make qualifying standard. That is the challenge.”

June 29 is the deadline to earn Olympic qualification for most track and field events.

TT’s US-based athletes have been fortunate in recent weeks to compete in the US.

Richards and Deon Lendore both snatched bronze at the USA Track and Field Golden Games in Walnut, California, on Sunday.

Richards competed in the men’s 200m event and Lendore in the men’s 400m event.

Discussing the possibility of local meets in the coming weeks, Comissiong said, “We (are) almost on a daily basis liaising with officials at the Ministry of Health. We understand the situation, but it is kind of a balancing act. How do we provide some competition for the local athletes to attain the standard without violating the covid restrictions?”

Covid19 cases and deaths have been on the rise in the past weeks in TT which has led to strict measures being put in place by the Government.

Two TT relay teams have already qualified for the Olympics including the men’s 4x400m team and the women’s 4x100m team.

“The level of competition in the states at this time I think is high. The collegiate athletes competing on the NCAA circuit – that level of competition is pretty high. Although there are restrictions worldwide you have a lot of the senior Americans who are home…the invitational events are being well patronized.”

Comissiong said the TT athletes overseas are “fortunate” to compete in that environment.

Ephraim Serrette, the special adviser to the Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe, told Newsday it’s a challenging time for athletes. “Personally it is a great concern. The final decision is with the CMO (Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram) and the Minister of Health (Terrence Deyalsingh to have events locally). I empathise with the athletes…it is a difficult time.”