Nicholas Paul golden in men's sprint at Bolivarian Games

Trinidad and Tobago's cycling phenom Nicholas Paul got this country's first gold medal at the Bolivarian Games in Ayacucho-Lima, Peru, on December 2 when he topped the field in the men's sprint event at the Costa Verde Pan-American Complex, Lima.

In the final, Paul tested his speed against Colombian ace Kevin Quintero, with the former getting the better of his South American counterpart in consecutive rides to seal gold. It was TT's second medal at the games as rising sensation Makaira Wallace bagged bronze in the women's keirin on December 1.

Paul started his sprint quest in Peru on December 1, topping qualifying with a brisk 9.686 seconds-clocking. The Colombian pair of Cristian Ortega (9.955s) and Quintero (9.997s) clocked the next-best times. In the quarterfinal, Paul got the better of Chile's Robert Castillo, with Ortega, Quintero and Venezuela's Alberto Torres also making their way into the semis.

In the subsequent semis on December 2, Paul was adjudged the winner against Torres, who was disqualified, while Quintero got past Ortega.

On December 1, Wallace got TT's campaign off to a flying start with the bronze-medal finish in the keirin. In her classification ride, Wallace placed second behind Colombian cyclist Juliana Rendon and secured her place in the final. The other classification race was won by impressive Colombian cyclist Stefany Cuadrado.

In the six-woman field for the final, Cuadrado was again a tough opponent to overcome as she won gold ahead of Venezuela's Jalymar Rodriguez, with Wallace sprinting over the line to ensure her spot on the podium as she bagged third spot.

On December 2, Wallace was back at it as she surged into the quarterfinals of the women's sprint event after finishing with the third-best time from the qualification round. The impressive Cuadrado led qualifying with a time of 10.722 seconds, with her countrywoman Luna Alvarez (11.238s) registering the next-best time. Wallace clocked a time of 11.273s and finished the qualifying phase ahead of Chile's Paola Munoz (11.565s) and Paula Molina (11.781s). Wallace then took down Venezuela's Carleany Martinez in the third sprint quarterfinal to advance to the semis. Martinez had the sixth-best time in qualifying (11.802s).