‘Elite’ athletes share $1.8 million

This move by the ministry was done in keeping with Government’s Vision 20/20 plan to develop sport throughout the nation, as the athletes, who collected their cheques, qualified under the Elite Athletes Assistance Programme.

Some of the athletes who benefited by the Ministry’s generosity on Wednesday were 2007 First Citizens Sportswoman of the Year, shot-putter Cleopatra Borel-Brown; road cyclist Emile Abraham; 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, swimmer George Bovell III; sprinters Marc Burns, Darrel Brown and Richard Thompson, who each pocketed $150,000. Six athletes were presented with $100,000 cheques — world junior 400-metre champ Renny Quow, another quarter-miler Ato Modibo, sprinter Jacey Harper, sailor Andrew Lewis and Bovell’s younger brother and fellow swimmer Nicholas.

Sprinters Niconnor Alexander and Emmanuel Callender, half-miler Sheridan Kirk and swimmer Sharntelle McLean all received $75,000 on the day.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee Larry Romany informed the gathering that “the athletes that are going to go to Beijing are, by any definition, elite athletes, because they cannot enter the Beijing airport if you don’t qualify through very stringent qualification methods.

Referring to the track and field athletes and swimmers in particular, he said, “There are a number of athletes under the NAAA banner on scholarships in the United States. Under NCAA rules (in the US), they cannot partake of this funding but it is normally done in thrust (funds) to avoid any risk of causing anything with their status.” The athletes who are currently enrolled in scholarships in the US are Thompson, Quow and McLean.

Sports Minister Gary Hunt emphasised that, currently, the programme will only focus on participants in Olympic disciplines.

“As part of the assistance programme, monitoring and assisting mechanisms, the disbursement of funds will be administered in two ‘tranches’ basis,” he said.

“The first ‘tranch’ will be disbursed to the athletes based on an application criteria. Hunt continued, “The athletes then receive the balance of their funding in the second ‘‘tranch’’, based on the results of the two-month monitoring exercise by the TTOC in consultation with the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.”

Both Daniel and Alexander extended their gratitude to the Sports Ministry for their efforts in assisting the athletes prepare for the Olympics in five months’ time.