Trinidad and Tobago athletes miss Olympic standard at NAAA trial

No Trinidad and Tobago athlete at the first NAAA Olympic trial event on Monday, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, earned the qualification standard for the Tokyo Games.

The NAAA decided to have the meet to give local athletes a chance of earning the qualifying standard for the Olympics.

Some of the athletes have been unable to travel overseas to compete because of the covid19 pandemic.

In the men’s 100m event Jonathan Farinha, of Abilene Wildcats, won the event in 10.39 seconds, but it was short of the Olympic standard of 10.05. Farinha’s brother Nathan was second in 10.56 and Ayodele Taffe, also of Wildcats, was third in 10.61.

In the women’s 100m, the Simplex pair of Leah Bertrand and Kamaria Durant was first and second respectively in 11.52 and 11.90. Shaniqua Bascombe of Cougars was third in 11.97. The Olympic standard in the event is 11.15.

In the women’s 400m, Caliyah Wallace and Malika Coutain were the only athletes aiming for the 51.35 standard. Wallace of Cougars won in 59.95 and Coutain of Pt Fortin New Jets was second in 1:03.58

In the men 400m the top three missed the mark of 44.90. Kirdell McIntosh (Unattached) clocked 49.12, Joshua Mascall of Fyzabad stopped the clock in 49.26 and Elijah Joseph of Mounting Eagles finished in 49.31.

Durant won the women’s 200m in 24.45, but it was not fast enough to earn the standard of 22.80. Bertrand was second in 24.51 and Khadija Pickering of Wildcats ended third in 25.57.

In the men’s 200m, Shakeem McKay of Wildcats won in 21.33, Xaverri Williams of Stallions was second in 22.06 and Elijah Joseph of Mounting Eagles was third in 22.11. The athletes were vying for the mark of 20.24.

The NAAA will have a second meet on Sunday to give athletes another chance to qualify for the Olympics.

The deadline to qualify for the July 23-August 8 Olympics is June 29.