Javelin star Keshorn Walcott gets $250k in funding from Sport Ministry

TWO-TIME Olympic medallist Keshorn Walcott received a $250,000 cheque from the Ministry of Sport and Community Development on August 12, as part of the ministry's Elite Athlete Assistance Programme (EAAP).

Walcott, 31, was part of the 17-member Trinidad and Tobago contingent which participated at the 2024 Paris Olympics from July 26-August 11.

After suffering a season-ending achilles rupture at the 2023 World Championships in Hungary last August, Walcott fought his way back into good shape and made it to the javelin finals in Paris last week.

A gold medallist in the javelin event in his very first Olympics in 2012, Walcott threw a season's best effort of 86.16 metres in the 2024 final at the Stade de France on August 8. His throw momentarily gave him the lead, but the Toco athlete eventually slipped to seventh spot by the end of the competition.

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem won with a monstrous 92.97m throw – a new Olympic record. India's Neeraj Chopra, javelin champion at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, got second spot with an 89.45m effort, with Grenada's Anderson Peters getting the bronze medal with a distance of 88.54m.

Walcott was one of only two TT athletes to advance to a final in Paris. Jereem Richards, who broke the national record in the 400m final, was the other TT representative to do so. Richards had an agonising fourth-place finish in the 400m final.

Walcott received the cheque from David Roberts, acting permanent secretary, at a presentation at the ministry in Port of Spain.

"This funding, provided under the EAAP, recognises Walcott's unwavering commitment and outstanding representation of TT on the international stage," said an August 13 social media post by the ministry.

"The EAAP, in alignment with the National Sport Policy, is dedicated to providing financial assistance to elite athletes. This commitment underscores the ministry's commitment to fostering the development of TT's athletes and enabling their continued success on the world stage."

The ministry said Walcott "continues to be a source of national pride."

The EAAP caters to athletes who are world-ranked in individual sports, sports included in Olympic events and programmes and athletes who win medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Senior Pan American Games and Senior Central American and Caribbean Games.

Athletes ranked among the top ten in the world qualify for the maximum allocation of $250,000, with athletes ranked 11-40 benefiting by up to $187,500.

As of July 23, 2024, Walcott was ranked the ninth-best javelin thrower in the world.

On August 14, six TT athletes, including this country's flagbearers for the opening ceremony, Michelle-Lee Ahye and Dylan Carter, will return home from Paris.