Gittens rues coach's absence from Olympic delegation

Trinidad and Tobago multisport athlete Tyra Gittens believes she may have fared better in the finals of the Olympic women’s long jump if her Texas A&M University coach Sean Brady was included in Trinidad and Tobago’s Olympic delegation.

Gittens, a heptathlete, still finished tenth on debut at the Tokyo Games.

TT Olympic chef de mission Lovie Santana said that owing to the team’s quota for officials, and a need for additional medical staff, some athletes had to utilise the services of the coaches provided by their respective national sporting bodies.

In this case, Gittens had to work with the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) jumps coach Wendell Williams, who unfortunately contracted covid19 and was in an isolation facility while she competed in the finals.

Gittens said she found out belatedly about Brady not getting accredited to join her.

After she received confirmation of her Olympic berth in mid-May, Gittens began filling out the required paperwork for Brady to head to Tokyo.

Gittens said she received her plane ticket to Tokyo one week prior to her departure from the US and then contacted a “delegation manager” to inquire about her coach’s travel arrangements.

“I just wanted to make sure, because I received my ticket and none for my coach. The response I got was: 'Oh, you didn’t know (Brady was not included)?'

"And no, I didn’t know.

“So they were never going to tell me. I was going to be in the airport trying to figure out all of that."

She said Williams getting covid19 made a bad situation worse.

Men's long jumper Andwuelle Wright and hurdler Sparkle McKnight also tested positive and missed their respective events.

In the qualifying round of competition, Gittens booked a spot in the final by achieving a 6.72m distance in the opening round. In the medal event, she could only produce a 6.60m leap, short of her personal best and national record of 6.96m.

“If my coach was there, I honestly believe I would have made the top six at least.

"I did do my best when I was out there but once we found out that he couldn’t join me in Tokyo, we really worked on me going through the rounds without him at my side – and that was tough."

Gittens said although she was happy with her debut, she was not satisfied.

"I don’t make excuses for when I compete because that’s not the athlete I am. But me not having a coach really backfired. That’s why I’m happy with my tenth place.”

Gittens said she had no issue working with Williams, but Brady knew her strengths, weaknesses and how to get the best out of her.

Asked about Brady not being part of the TT contingent, Santana said, "Team TTO would have been allowed an allocation quota and of course, within that quota, we had to factor in the medical officials and also management. The quota does not allow for individual coaches.

“For example, with track and field, you would have had to use one coach for two to three athletes. The quota just doesn’t allow for us to have individual coaches for individual disciplines.”

She added that the overall delegation quota per nation also includes the team’s medical staff, which needed to be beefed up owing to the pandemic.

Altogether, TT carried nine medical personnel and covid19 liaison officer Rheeza Grant.

“In order to fit in our medics, we always had to see where we could pull that accreditation from. Medical personnel were extremely important for these games in particular."

Gittens remains frustrated.

“I was genuinely mad that I was put in a situation and asked to produce something great. I will gladly show off my skills, but I feel like I was put in that situation to fail and they wanted me to succeed.”

During the games, Gittens said she reached out to Bahamas jumps coach Henry Rolle for assistance. He helped her but could only do so much.

Gittens said she called her coach Brady after her Olympics and he apologised for not being there to help her.

“He is the reason why I was there (Olympics). I felt bad that he blamed himself. He was stressed and I know he would have given everything to come. Thankfully, I was able to bring some positive out of this. It’s what elite athletes have to do. Find the good and go."

Prior to Williams’ positive test, Gittens worked with him and TT coach NicConnor Alexander for her qualifying round.

“Wendell, NicConnor and I sat down, and it helped. They did everything they could because of the situation they were put in and I will be forever grateful.

“They really tried, but it was the disconnect of they not knowing me as an athlete and me not knowing them as coaches.”

She added, “I have a passion and love for my nation even though I’ve spent a lot of years abroad. And yes, it was kind of insulting to find out that my coach was not coming, and then seeing (local) athletes getting ripped apart (on social media).

“I wish people could see my heart because I’m so proud to represent TT. I will always,forever more, want to put on the red, white and black. They just need to understand where we are coming from as the athletes.”