With a focus on promoting Caribbean athletics globally, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is continuing with its "Day in the Life" series featuring some of the best athletes in the region. In Trinidad, Guardian Sports Editor Sheldon Longley, who was with the IAAF team, caught up with the president of the National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago (NAAATT), Ephraim Serrette. Serrette spoke quite candidly about the direction of athletics in Trinidad and Tobago.
When it comes to athletics in the Caribbean region, there's no question that Jamaica is the cream of the crop, but the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is making significant strides, producing more top level athletes than ever before.
Trinidad and Tobago has always been quite formidable in the track events, but now, the country is branching off into the field events as well, particularly the throws. It couldn't be more evident than with the performance of young Keshorn Walcott in the javelin throw in 2012. The Trinidadian star had one of the all-time great years by a track and field athlete, winning four major titles! He overwhelmed the competition for the CARIFTA title, was in a class by himself at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Championships, won the gold at the World Junior Championships and then shocked the world in London, carting off the Olympic title. The Olympic gold was just the second for Trinidad and Tobago, and it came almost 50 years after the first. Hasely Crawford was the first, winning gold in the men's 100 meters (m) in 1976.
Crawford, after whom the national stadium is named, remains an icon in Trinidad and Tobago.
"Hasely continues to be a part of the sport. He's an executive member in NAAATT, and he loves the competition. He makes himself available to talk to the athletes, telling them what the sport could do for them," said National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago (NAAATT) President Ephraim Serrette during a recent interview.
As for Walcott, his early success is no doubt a product of unbelievable physical ability combined with talent and hard work, but one has to look at T&T's national programs as well. Coming up behind Walcott, is another phenomenal junior javelin thrower, Shakeil Waithe.
On the senior level, athletes such as Richard Thompson, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Deon Lendore, Keston Bledman and Lalonde Gordon are highly ranked; Walcott and Jehue Gordon have conquered the world already as the reigning Olympic and World Champions respectively; and juniors such as Waithe, Machel Cedenio, Jonathan Farinha, Zakiya Denoon, Aaliyah Telesford and Kayelle Clarke are coming.
Led by Walcott, Trinidad and Tobago had its best Olympic showing ever, in 2012, winning one gold, one silver and two bronze for a total of four medals. NAAATT President Serrette said that the association is very pleased with the direction that T&T athletics is headed in, and this is just the beginning of things to come for that nation. He said that they have focused on maintaining a clear line of communication with their athletes, keeping track of their training, performances and their progress in the sport.
"What we see happening is that better technology is now allowing us to communicate much better with our athletes. With the new vision of this executive, and the communication lines that have been opened up, we know exactly what's happening with them and how they are progressing. We try to have communication with their coaches and their entire team," said Serrette. "Also, we have a better planning process, even with the athletes in school. We have developed some relationships with some of the coaches who would work with us so that they don't run the athletes rugged."
As a result of them venturing more into the schools, Serrette said that participation in athletics has increased, and programs such their 'Right on Track' program and their 'Kids Athletics' Program have produced the desired results.
"More and people are taking interest in the sport," he said. "With the success of Keshorn Walcott coming off the Olympics, we see much more javelin throwers such as Shakeil Waithe surfacing. We are seeing more participation in the hurdles as well."
The two main stadiums in Trinidad, the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain and the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, are loaded with a bevy of the finest Trinidadian athletes in the mornings and evenings, both junior and senior. There just seems to be an aura of fierceness and camaraderie, athletes pushing each other to get better. Specialized coaching, particularly in the throws, has aided tremendously in the success of T&T athletics as well.
Serrette said that it is difficult getting athletes to divert from their personal coaches for national development, particularly because of the relationships those coaches would have built with their athletes over time. Nevertheless, he said that fostering the growth and continued development of their athletes is their primary concern.
"Coaches hold their athletes kind of dear to them, and would not release them into a national program," said Serrette. "At times, we allow them to come with their programs from their coaches for national teams. When you look at our athletes, their performances determine what happens in the future. Everything we do at NAAATT is to cater to the athletes. I'm doing this through the eyes of a former athlete, so I'm continuously looking at what they would want in certain situations. It is our duty to cater to the athletes."
This week, Trinidad and Tobago has a 21-member team at the 15th International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore., and a 41-member track and field contingent at the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Serrette is optimistic about the performances of the Trinidadian track and field athletes.
"With the Commonwealth Games, it has garnered the interest of all of our top athletes so Trinidad and Tobago will be well represented," said Serrette. "We saw an increase of about two medals on our London (2012 Olympics) performance, and because of that, sports is big business now. We are hoping that we will be able to attract more sponsors so that we could better manage a structure to take the sport to the next level."
Serrette said that the country's annual budget in the NAAATT for fiscal 2013-2014 was around TT$8.2 million (approx. USD$1.29 million). That vast figure is inclusive of national team travel, the hosting and organization of workshops and clinics, and the cost to effectively manage its programs.
"We're getting closer to our operational budget but we still need more corporate sponsors to get on board with T&T athletics so that we could have less dependency on government, and be able to manage our athletes and programs better," said Serrette.
As far as their doping control program is concerned, Serrette said that they start the testing procedures from an early age. He said that the key is to continually educate the athletes on what is out there, and of the harsh penalties and consequences for their actions.
"We start with the juniors. There are seminars for CARIFTA, and we engage in a number of workshops. Everyone has their work cut out for them as far as doping is concerned," said Serrette. "I think that the money that is involved in track and field is probably driving some athletes to go and get that edge. That might be one of the contributors. People want to get the big dollars so they do what they feel is necessary.
"It's a long fight, but it's everyone's fight. Most of the federations have their own systems in place. I think that we have to continually educate our athletes, and continue testing on a regular basis. Once athletes know that they are going to be tested, that might tend to curb their involvement in PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs)."
Their top female sprinter Kelly-Ann Baptiste failed a drug test last year, and consequently missed the Moscow World Championships.
To date, Jamaica is the only Caribbean nation to host a world junior or world youth championships with the staging of the former in 2002. Just this past May, The Bahamas became the first Caribbean nation to host a senior global track and field competition with the staging of the world relays. Presently, a number of one-day meets and invitationals are held in the Caribbean. Whereas it's not yet a fixture on the calendar just yet, Serrette believes that meets such as their President's Classic, the Jamaica International Invitational and the Meeting International Region Guadeloupe just to name a few, could create a Caribbean circuit of high class track and field meets in this region.
"It would be wonderful if people could come down this side and make that a circuit. I think it calls for greater collaboration with all of the federations and the private meet promoters," said Serrette. "That's something that we could work on, but it has to be a collaborative effort between the countries. We just have to identify the weekends," he added.
A Caribbean circuit could certainly increase the awareness and popularity of the sport here in this region. Even without it, Trinidad and Tobago athletes have already risen to the forefront. The results of their athletes this year, particularly the juniors, has been nothing short of extraordinary.
After leading the world for a stint this year, Richard Thompson and Michelle-Lee Ahye have fallen into second place on the world's top lists in the men and women's 100m respectively. Thompson has a best this year of 9.82 seconds, done for a new national record at their national championships, and Ahye did 10.85 seconds at the T&T nationals, a former world lead that was just recently passed by American Tori Bowie's 10.80 in Monaco. American Justin Gatlin leads the men's list with a best of 9.80 seconds this year, and his lifetime best of 9.79 seconds has him ranked number six on the all-time list. Thompson is close behind him at number nine on the all-time list.
Trinidad and Tobago's only world lead at this point, comes from 18-year-old Machel Cedenio in the junior men's 400m. He has the top two times in the world this year, running 45.23 seconds in the Cayman Islands, and 45.28 seconds at the CAC Junior Championships in Morelia, Mexico. He is the favorite to win the world junior title at the 15th IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, Ore. this week.
In the men's 400m, Deon Lendore is at number four this year with a personal best clocking of 44.36 seconds. He trails just Kirani James of Grenada (43.74), LaShawn Merritt of the United States of America (USA-43.92) and Isaac Makwala of Botswana (44.01), who has really surfaced out of nowhere this season.
The only other Trinidadian athletes in the top 10 of the IAAF's top performance lists this year, are Shakeil Waithe in the junior men's javelin and Jonathan Farinha in the junior men's 100m. Waithe has a best throw of 72.75m (238' 8") which has him ranked as the ninth best junior thrower this year, and Farinha is tied for 10th in the junior men's 100m with a personal best time of 10.25 seconds.
With the world juniors and the Commonwealth Games currently ongoing, and Trinidad and Tobago well represented, more fantastic times and distances are expected to be on the horizon.
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