Sprinting into history

WHEN NICHOLAS Paul celebrates his birthday next month, he will have more to celebrate than just hitting the age of 25. He will cross that milestone after crossing another on Monday: becoming this country’s most decorated international cyclist.

With his historic silver medal in the sprint at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Mr Paul cemented his already impressive place among this country’s sportsmen, and continued along a trajectory that has seen him distinguish himself from local icons such as Roger Gibbon (1967 World 1km bronze) and Gene “Geronimo” Samuel (1991 World 1km bronze). Monday’s medal is his second piece of silverware from the event, having won silver in the 1km time trial at the 2021 championships.

We congratulate Mr Paul on his achievement and praise him for his poise as he continues along his journey, a journey which has seen him move from enduring a fractured collarbone and fractured ribs during training last year to now being among the major contenders for medals at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. He is yet another instance of how young people are providing this country with much reason for good cheer.

The ongoing Commonwealth Youth Games has already thrown up many instances of our success. We congratulate Nikoli Blackman for his golden finishes in both the men’s 200m and 100m freestyles at the National Aquatic Centre in Balmain, Couva, this week.

We also congratulate Zarek Wilson for his silver medal in the men’s 50m backstroke, Janae De Gannes for her silver medal in the women’s long jump, and Sanaa Frederick for her bronze in the women's 100m – all among team TT’s early successes.

TT scored an early win in the men’s beach volleyball, but the victory was also for the country, as things got off to a smooth start on Saturday at the newly constructed Courland Beach Sports Arena, Black Rock, Tobago, after weeks of spats and no-shows at meetings between the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs and Tobago House of Assembly officials.

The games serve as a reminder of the importance of Government’s investment in and its policy push to foster more youth involvement in sport, not just in relation to the staging of events but also in relation to initiatives such as recent bilateral discussions between officials of this country and Jamaica to explore that country’s model of identifying and supporting youth talent.

Such initiatives and events are welcome. But so far local clubs, sporting bodies and university programmes continue to be the backbone of systems when it comes to launching our successful youth athletes.

However, as part of our national development plans, efforts need to be made to broaden opportunities for participation in recreational and competitive sports for people in all age groups.