Trinidad and Tobago's Tyrique Vincent: We want to medal in every Carifta event

Trinidad and Tobago junior athlete Tyrique Vincent has set the bar high for he and his teammates ahead of the April 19-21 Carifta Games which will be held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo as he wants the 78-member team to medal in every event.

At last year's Carifta Games in Grenada, Vincent impressed as the Concorde athlete earned a silver medal in the boys' under-17 long jump event, to go along with a bronze medal in the high jump. TT bagged a total of 27 medals last year, with Jamaica (83 medals) and Bahamas (36 medals) leading the medal count.

This year, Vincent will be competing in the under-20 category and he will be hoping to show off his endurance and jumping skills when he competes in the gruelling decathlon event and the 110-metre hurdles.

"I'm very excited to compete in the Carifta Games for another year. I competed last year and year before. Preparations have been coming along pretty well," Vincent told Newsday on April 11, as he and a handful of teammates received a donation of equipment from The Brydens Group, in collaboration with Olympic athlete Jereem Richards.

"We started from December and we've had continuous training. I know we've had some problems with the stadium and facilities and stuff but we've made sure to practice and push towards the competition."

After seven months of work, Sport Company of TT CEO Jason Williams assured Newsday that a spanking Hasely Crawford Stadium track was expected to be re-opened on April 15. Due to the resurfacing of the track, the track events for the Carifta trials on April 5 and 6 were shifted to the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. The first day of the trials, which consisted of field events, was held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium training field on April 4.

Despite the obvious setbacks, Vincent is optimistic about what TT can produce at the games.

"I think we could expect a medal from every athlete. So in every event, I think we can bring back a medal if we put our minds to it, come together and push," he said.

If he gets his wish, TT may surpass their haul from recent years, as they claimed 23 medals at Carifta 2022 and copped 22 at the 2023 edition.

"I think the bond is strong (in the team) because a lot of athletes have returned from last year. All of us are like a family and we motivate and push each other."

Middle-distance athlete Kayleigh Forde, who got a bronze medal in the girls' under-20 1,500m at Carifta 2024, will be contesting both the 1,500m and 800m this year.

The One-a-Week multi-sport club athlete resisted the temptation of saying this will be her year to top the podium.

"How I personally view Carifta is a step in my development. I go there and I do my best – whatever that means on the day is whatever it means on the day." Forde said.

"Any medals would be appreciated, of course. My number one goal is to go out there do my best, make a (personal best) and make myself and my country proud.

"In terms of myself, it's just about visualising the races, trying to keep calm and having confidence in myself and the training so I don't become overwhelmed on the day."

She hopes the TT faithful can give the athletes that extra boost from the stands.

"The supporters' association has been doing a lot to help the athletes and really drumming up support for the event. I'm really hopeful a lot of the citizens will come out, even those who may not know a lot about athletics.

"I know we bring a lot of energy and a lot of vibes to these events. It will be great to run in front of that sort of crowd."

Meanwhile, TT head coach Wendell Williams said the team is raring to go and will be keen to sharpen up on a few things leading up to the games.

"We're going to do a lot of relay practices and the coaches and the team are ready to do the little fine-tuning for events like the hurdles, jumps and throws. We will be defining the little differences in coaching techniques and collaborating with the coaches and athletes to ensure we perform at our best." (With reporting by Jelani Beckles).