Jereem Richards, Teniel Campbell win top First Citizens sports awards

CYCLIST Teniel Campbell and sprinter Jereem Richards won the First Citizens sportswoman and sportsman of the year awards, respectively, on Sunday evening at Movietowne, Port of Spain.

However, both athletes were not present to receive their awards as they are out of the country.

Campbell’s mother Euphenia Huggins collected the award on behalf of her daughter, who was outstanding at the 2022 Pan Am games.

Huggins spoke of the family support behind Campbell. She added that the entire family was proud of her achievements as she kept progressing in each race she participated in.

Richards’s sister Brittney Richards-Nelson collected on behalf of her brother.

Richards-Nelson said being a family member, the trials and struggles that athletes face are witnessed first-hand.

“It is really inspiring because you hear people say you work hard towards your goal and sometimes it is hard to do that, especially when there is no fruit coming through immediately. Jareem is very disciplined, he knows exactly what he wants and he has remained focused. I myself took that as a lesson in my own life.”

Two-time First Citizens Sports Foundation Youth Sportsman of the Year Nikoli Blackman completed a hat-trick of awards on Sunday and hopes to end off his Carifta games later this year with a bang.

“This is my last Carifta and then I age out, so last one, fast one as the swimmers say, and just end it with a bang!”

The 17 year old will lead TT’s medal quest at the 2023 Carifta Swimming Championships scheduled for April 6 to 10 in Curacao.

Blackman said he will be looking forward to swimming with Dylan Carter at the upcoming Central and Caribbean Games (CAC), Commonwealth and Pan Am games, before moving to university.

Moving from local coaching to university level, Blackman said the coaching at that level would help transform him into an elite swimmer.

Asked what the three-peat meant for him, Blackman said: “It means a lot, to be honest. I am quite honoured to have won.”

His message to the youth was a simple one: don’t get involved in wrongdoing. Particularly for those in sport, he strongly advised against getting involved in school violence and other ills as that would negatively impact on their careers.

Cyclist Phoebe Sandy, who was crowned the youth sportswoman, said coming out of her inability to advance to the second round of the World Junior Championship last year, showed not only the potential that exists locally but the development needed to push the sport.

“It exposed a lot of weaknesses that we have in training in Trinidad...but it showed the potential we have and what it takes to go forward. We have to keep pushing from here on.”

Sandy thanked her coaching staff for their support.

While there were the overall winners, First Citizens also celebrated 20 athletes, ten in each category, as well as inducted nine people and one team into the hall of fame.

Those inducted were: the 1987 national netball team, Andrew Aleong for cricket, Lionel D’Arceuil for table tennis, Winston Mulligan for table tennis, administrator Mushtaque Mohammed, Stacey Ann Sui Butt for hockey, Ashley Ian Harris for coaching and Marcus Minshall, an all-round sportsman. Two inductees were entered posthumously: Ian Nivet for cycling and Phillip Ian Dore for athletic training and physiotherapy.