f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

away following a car accident in January but her rival,
Ria Ramnarine, enhanced the legacy of fine female
boxers, by capturing the WBA title in May, immediately
dedicating it to Salandy’s memory.
The mental type of battle, on the chess table,
continues to grow in popularity among all ages, with
youngsters such as Rafael Guerrero doing well in
competitions abroad, and the Chess Carnival attracting
players from around the globe.
In August 2009, the Trinidad and Tobago golf team
defended the title in the Stephen Ames Cup in Calgary,
Canada. This was the first time that any team had won
this Cup away from home. T&T also finished second in
the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships (in Turks
and Caicos) and the Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf
Championships (in Jamaica).
The annual Great Race between the two islands
resulted in an amazing eleventh victory for Ken
Charles’s Mr. Solo powerboat. In sailing, a different
eleven surfaced; denoting the age of Myles Kaufman
who led the T&T team to the Caribbean Junior Team
Trophy held in Barbados. Allied to 10-year-old Abigail
Affoo’s victory at the International Regatta in St.
Thomas, it seems that age does not necessarily equate
experience for T&T’s young sailors.
In racquet sports, the local tennis and table tennis
scene continues to produce promising youngsters
though it is 56-year-old Lionel Darceuil that now reigns
as national tennis champion. However it is the squash
players that take the bragging rights for 2009 with
the emphatic first-time victories for both the men and
women’s teams at the Caribbean Championships in
the Cayman Islands.
As the Beacon Windies vs. the Rest of the World
series and the Tobago Classic, continues to bookend
a busy cycling calendar, the multitalented Njisane
Phillips confirmed his potential with three gold medals
at the Pan Am Championships, followed by fifth place
at the Junior Worlds. The 18-year-old will now undertake
an extended training stint in Switzerland for 2010.
Arguably the top performance of 2009 came
from the Track and Field athletes who took their
wonderful Beijing results a step further at the World
Championships in Berlin. As Richard Thompson, Marc
Burns and company, gained silver in the sprint relay to
match their Olympic achievement with the third fastest
run of all time, the women’s 4 x 100 m relay team
reached the final for the first time ever. Keeping the
flag flying for the gender, Tobagonian Josanne Lucas
became the first T&T female to earn a World medal with
a Bronze in the 400 m hurdles. In the same distance
but minus the hurdles, her fellow Tobagonian Renny
Quow, earned his Bronze in a come- from-behind run
that excited both fans and commentators alike. With
many other T&T youngsters also reaching Finals, the
medal prospects for London 2012 is indeed exciting.
T&T continues to punch above its weight in terms of
the quality of athletes derived from a relatively small
population. Given the continued upward trajectory of
the past few years, 2010 will bring further success for
the men and women in the national colours.
The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago
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Anthony Harris