Paul, Ahye take TTOC awards; Blackman, Frederick secure junior accolades

CYCLIST Nicholas Paul and track and field athlete ​Michelle-Lee Ahye are the TT Olympic Committee (TTOC) 2023 Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year winners respectively. The announcements were made at the 29th Annual TTOC Award ceremony at Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain on Friday night.

It was Paul's third TTOC Sportsman of the Year award after winning the prize in 2019 and 2021.

Paul, 25, had a memorable year on the track with the highlight being at the 2023 International Cycling Union World Track Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in August.

Paul, who is the world record holder in the individual men's sprint, earned a historic silver.

He had his hands full in the final as he was up against Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen, who prevailed in consecutive rides to win his fifth straight World Championship title.

It was Paul's second World Championship silver after copping second spot in the 1K time trial event in 2021. That same year Paul took home the Sportsman of the Year prize.

Later in 2023, Paul showed his class at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

He defended the sprint title he won at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and also bagged silver in the men's keirin.

Sprinter Jereem Richards, 29, won the sportsman of the year award for 2022.

Ahye, 31, who last won the Sportswoman of the Year award in 2021, was given the nod ahead of road cyclist Teniel Campbell.

One of the best moments of 2023 for Ahye was at the Pan American Games where she grabbed bronze in the women's 100-metre event in 11.53 seconds. Ahye was the only TT track and field athlete to win a medal in Chile.

It was Ahye's second Pan Am medal after copping silver at the 2019 edition in Lima, Peru.

Ahye is still TT's most elite women's sprinter and has dominated in local meets.

In 2023, Campbell became the first black woman to complete the Tour De France Femmes. She rode 960km over eight days during the event. Campbell was brought to tears during the feature address on Friday, recalling all the injuries she had to endure during the year.

It was no surprise that swimmer Nikoli Blackman won the junior sportsman of the year award.

Blackman, 18, splashed his way to a gold medal in the men's 50-metre freestyle event at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships 2023 in Netanya, Israel in September.

Weeks before the World Junior Championships, Blackman thrilled his home supporters at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games held in TT.

At the National Aquatic Centre in Couva, Blackman copped three gold medals as he ended the meet as TT's best athlete.

The junior sportswoman of the year award went to track and field athlete Sanaa Frederick.

Frederick won one gold medal (Under-20 200m), two silver medals (Under-20 4x100m relay, Under-20 4x400m relay) and one bronze medal (Under-20 100m) at the Carifta Games in Bahamas.

At the Commonwealth Youth Games she copped two bronze medals in the women's 100m and 4x100m mixed relay.

It did not end there for Frederick as she earned a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador in the women's 4x100m relay.

​The men's 3x3 basketball team of Moriba De Freitas, Chike Augustine and twin brothers Ahkeel and Ahkeem Boyd took home the sports personality of the year award. Cyclist Alexi Costa-Ramirez copped the future is female award and Paul also won the people's choice award.

Former TTOC president Brian Lewis received a special recognition for his role in TT winning the bid to host the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games.

Winning the Alexander B Chapman Award for contribution to sport and Olympism was swim coach Lorraine Boland Van Druten, who has decades of experience.