TT eye medals on opening day

TT will be well represented in the javelin, long jump, 100m and 400m events today when the 2019 Carifta Games start at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in Cayman Islands, from 9 am.

TT are aiming to improve on last year's performance which saw the, return with 17 medals – four gold, six silver and seven bronze.

This country has been a powerhouse in javelin in the recent past and this is expected to continue. Today in the girls Under-20 javelin finals, Kymoi Noray and Antonia Sealy will compete for TT, looking to add to build on the 2018 Carifta javelin success, which saw a return of three gold and one bronze medal. Noray was one of those medallists, copping bronze in the girls Under-20 division.

In a recent interview with Tobago Sports Live Noray said, "This year my goal is to get a personal best and achieve a gold medal in my event."

She said competing at Carifta gives her an extra drive, as the meet features athletes who are fully committed to the sport.

In the girls Under-20 long jump, Jayda Williams and Caitlin Ragoonanan will be representing the red, white and black.

TT will have a number of participants in the 100m and 400m events, with medals in all the divisions to be decided today.

In the girls Under-20 100m, Akilah Lewis, who earned bronze in the event last year, will vie for another medal. She will be joined by Ayla Staniclaus in the event.

In the girls Under-17 100m, Shaniqua Bascombe and Taejha Badal will fly the TT flag. In the boys Under-20 100m, Kion Benjamin and Adell Colthrust will run, .The boys Under-17 100m will feature the duo of Devin Augustine and Shakeem McKay. McKay is hopeful he will get a good start to give him a chance to medal. "Mostly (I have been working on) my start because it is terrible, but I have been working on it and hopefully I get a great start at Carifta Games," he said.

It will be a busy day for TT in the 400m event with Rae-Ann Serville and Tamia Badal competing in the girls Under-20 category. In the girls Under-17 division, Natasha Fox and Malika Coutain will aim for a podium finish.

Among the boys, Nicholas Wilson will be TT's only entrant in the boys Under-20 and in the boys Under-17, Jordan Pope and Jessiah Jones will battle for a medal. The meet will conclude on Monday.

TT SQUAD:

Boys Under-17 – Devin Au­gus­tine (100m/200m/4x100m), Sha­keem Mc Kay (100m/200m/4x100m/4x400m), Jor­don Pope (4oom/4x400m), Jes­si­ah Jones (400m/4x400m), Ryan Camp­bell (800m), Troy Llanos (3000m), Ri­nal­do Moore (110m hur­dles/400m hur­dles/4x100m/4x400m), Miguel Telfer (long jump/4x100m), Jay­den Scott (dis­cus/shot put), Tyrese Mur­ray (dis­cus), Veay­on Joseph (javelin), An­tho­ny Di­az (javelin/4x100m/4x400m), Ryan Camp­bell (4x400m)

Boys Under-20 – Kion Ben­jamin (100m/4x100m), Adell Colthrust (100m/200m/4x100m), Avin­dale Smith (200m/4x100m), Nicholas Wil­son (400m), Gen­e­sis Joseph (1500m/5000m), Justin Gay (110m hur­dles/4x100m),Tyrese Rawl­ins (110m hur­dles/4x100m), Kelsey Daniel (triple jump/long jump), Jay­don An­toine (long jump), Joel An­drews (pole vault), Christo­pher Craw­ford (dis­cus/shot put), Tyriq Hors­ford (javelin), Selvon Rochford (javelin), An­son Moses, Che Rochford, Do­minic Cole (4x100m)

Girls Under-17 – Shani­qua Bas­combe (100m/200m/4x100m), Tae­jha Badal (100m/200m/4x100m/4x400m), Natasha Fox (400m/4x400m), Ma­li­ka Coutain (400m/4x400m), Kare­sa Kir­ton (110m hur­dles/4x100m), Xea Bruce (400m hur­dles/4x400m), Am­ber May­hew (triple jump), Shak­era Kirk (dis­cus), Lalenii Grant (dis­cus), Bri­an­na Per­cy (shot put), Reneisha An­drews (4x100m), Kyah La For­tune (4x100m), Chris­tine Marie Ma­haraj (4x400m), Atiya Croal (4x400m)

Girls Under-20 – Ay­la Stanis­claus (100m/200m/4x100m), Ak­i­la Lewis (100m/200m/4x100m), Rae-Ann Serville (400m/800m/4x400m), Tamia Badal (100m hur­dles/400m/4x100m), Safiya John (100m hur­dles/hep­that­lon/4x400m), Jay­da Williams (long jump), Caitlin Ra­goo­nanan (long jump/4x400m), Eliz­a­beth Galera (dis­cus), Ian­na Roach (shot put), An­to­nia Sealy (javelin), Ke­moy No­ray (javelin), Leah Bernard (4x100m), Nao­mi Camp­bell (4x100m), Ta­tian­na Mar­tinez (4x400m), Nico­la Pes­nell (4x400m)

Of­fi­cials – Lu­cre­tia Burns (man­ag­er), Ron­nell Bar­clay (as­sis­tant man­ag­er), Na­dine Hamid (head coach), Kelvin Nan­coo (sprint & re­lays), Althea Bus­by (sprint & re­lays), An­to­nia Bur­ton (sprint & re­lays), Er­ic Mc Cree (sprint & re­lays), Is­mael Lopez Mas­tra­pa (throws), Wen­dell Williams (jumps), Ja­mal James (mid­dle and long dis­tance run­ning), Reynold Pot­er Lee (mul­ti events), Ar­lon Mor­ri­son (mul­ti events), Dr Anyl Gopeesingh (med­ical), Ru­el Rigs­by (med­ical), Kurlyn Smith Nicholas (med­ical), An­tho­ny Wal­cott (med­ical), Dex­ter Thomas (med­ical)