Page 25 - Team TTO PARIS 2024
P. 25

Fresh off a win at the 2012 World Junior           “We were extremely happy for him and his coach. As a
            Championships in Barcelona, Keshorn Walcott went   nation, it really made us feel happy to hear our anthem
            into the javelin competition in London with the    played at the Stadium in London. It was a fantastic
            attitude of simply enjoying his first Olympics and   experience for everyone.”
            certainly, none of the seasoned competitors viewed
            him as a threat. As he moved through the rounds of   On Walcott’s return home, he was feted by the nation.
            the competition, he probably wasn’t even thinking   Thousands turned up at the airport and to give him a
            about the thousands of folks back home in Trinidad   boisterous welcome, there was a national parade, the
            and Tobago glued to their televisions taking in the   award of money, a university scholarship, a house and
            unfolding drama.                                   the nation’s highest order – the Order of Trinidad and
                                                               Tobago.
            “The mood in the camp was pure elation when
            Keshorn won his medal in London. It was just such   Borel, a consistent advocate for athlete welfare,
            an exciting moment for the team,” Borel said.      believes he deserved all the awards because “he
                                                               brought a lot of joy and excitement to the people of
            “I think we all go into the Games hoping the team   T&T and a lot of hope and motivation to young athletes
            would leave with some hardware, with medals. Then   in all arenas of sport.”
            to have someone as young as he was at the time,
            coming off his World Junior Championships win      The CAC champion shotputter believes Walcott’s win
            coming to the Olympics and just having a fantastic   has been a valuable launchpad for a new generation of
            day – one of the best days of his life.            throwers. “Keshorn’s success gave a lift and exposure
                                                               to the throws, we now have more throwers than ever.
                                                               Unfortunately, Covid put a damper on things but now
                                                               it’s time for us to look again at our capacity building for
                                                               the throws.

                                                               “We still have Keshorn’s legendary coach Ismael Lopez
                                                               Mastrapa in T&T, we have great coaches throughout
                                                               the island like Kerron Brown (former national javelin
                                                               champion) and Candice Scott (former hammer throw
                                                               champion). We really need to utilise these people to
                                                               build the capacity of the throwing events.






                                                             23
   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30