Pregnant Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Nyoshia Cain-Claxton out of Tokyo Paralympic Games

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO para-athlete Nyoshia Cain-Claxton will not participate at the Summer Paralympics in Tokyo because of her pregnancy.

The 26-year old sprinter, who qualified for the T44 100m and 200m events at this year’s games, has now shifted focus to ensure a smooth pregnancy and delivery of a healthy baby.

Cain-Claxton captured bronze in the T44 100m event at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

She also produced two third-place performances at the 2015 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships and the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships.

Cain-Claxton is uncertain if the birth of her first child may spell the end of her illustrious sporting career.

Although her pregnancy was not planned, the track athlete is “thankful nonetheless, because God’s timing is perfect.

“At this point, I would just have to see how things are both with my physical body and also financially. I would want to give the sport my best when I return. To be able to compete at the highest level is going to require a lot of work,” she said.

At the 2019 Parapan American Games in Peru, Cain-Claxton surpassed the 2020 Paralympic qualifying times during her golden run in the women’s T64 100m and bronze showing in the 200m version.

Since qualifying, she had been training privately to prepare for her second Paralympics. During these sessions, she realised her body was not responding well to the workouts and she was gaining weight instead of losing.

Because of the global health crisis and the many challenges that still surround the hosting of the August 24 to September 8 Games, Cain-Claxton is not too bothered to miss this year’s edition.

“Honestly. I would say it is a bittersweet feeling for me because I would have definitely loved to represent TT once again at my second Paralympics. But when it comes down to my health, I am happy to not be participating.

“I think especially having to train in Trinidad during this pandemic, I would have been at a disadvantage when it comes to training and competing,” she added.

Cain-Claxton said she wanted the 2021 Paralympics to be her last quadrennial games so that she could focus on building a family and setting other life goals.

Before her running career, she represented South East Port of Spain Secondary at volleyball. Soon after, she transitioned into running on hearing about the possibility of Paralympic qualification on the track.

Looking ahead, she called on Special Olympics of TT officials to ramp up their search for new athletic representatives.

“In my time in being a national athlete and representing the Paralympic arm, I do think that if they (administrators) don’t do proper marketing of the sport (Paralympics) here in Trinidad, after Akeem Stewart, Shanntol Ince and I leave, there won't be any Paralympic team from TT.

“SOTT can always ask us, as an athlete, to help with their recruitment drive, we are always willing to help. But there must be that drive from the administration. Akeem, Shantol and I are getting older and we would have other life goals that we would want to achieve.”