Brown vs Bovell III for WITCO prize

DARREL BROWN and George Bovell, both based at the Auburn University in the US, are the leading candidates for the 2003 WITCO Sportsman of the Year Award, which will be announced at tonight’s ceremony at the Hilton Trinidad. Today’s 40th annual awards will be the last of its kind to be staged under the auspices of the West Indian Tobacco Sports Foundation. But all eyes will be set on the stage when the names of the 2003 Sportsman and the Sportswoman of the Year are revealed.

Brown, the 2002 recipient, retained his CARIFTA Boys Under-20 100-metre title at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo in April and followed it up with a silver-medal placing at the IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. The 19-year-old sprint phenom also set a new world junior 100m record at the prestigious meet in Paris. Lanky swim king Bovell made his mark on the world stage when he finished fifth in his pet event, the 200m individual medley, at the FINA World Champs in Barcelona, Spain in July. A month later, he stole the show at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, when he claimed gold in the 200m IM and 200m freestyle, and silver medals in the 100m free and 100m backstroke. Two other major contenders for the top male prize are West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara and heavyweight boxer Kertson Manswell. Lara, who was re-appointed captain in March, amassed 533 runs at an average of 66.62 in his first series at the helm against Australia and also overtook chairman of selectors Sir Viv Richards as the leading West Indian run-getter in Tests.

Manswell followed up his 2002 Commonwealth and CAC silver medal performances with another silver, this time at the Pan Am Games. But he also tasted success in the ring, when he retained both his national and regional heavyweight belts. The Sportswoman of the Year accolade is really a battle between hammer-thrower Candice Scott and netballer Janelle Barker. Scott, the national champ, set a NCAA Championship record of 69.79 metres during her gold-medal performance at Sacramento, California. During the Pan Am Games, she registered a throw of 69.06m as she placed third in the event. Barker was the lone success for Trinidad and Tobago during their miserable campaign at the World Championships in Jamaica, finishing as the eighth leading scorer with 147.