TT athletes go against the best in Rio 2016

Standing out thus far has been swimmer, Dylan Carter. One of our most unheralded athletes, the US-based swimmer (USC Trojans, 3-time NCAA champion) set a national record as he won his 100m freestyle heat in 48.80 seconds (breaking George Bovell’s 48.82) but finished with the 23rd fastest time overall, thus failing to advance with the top 16 to the semifinals.

The 20-year-old deemed his debut as “special” despite not progressing. “Happy with my performance, proud to rep team TTO and excited for what’s to come!” he beamed on social media while expressing a hearty thanks to Bovell, physio Alexander Gibbon as well as former South African Olympic champion Roland Schoeman (2004) for helping train him. Another highlight for Carter as he gears to take the reins over as the nation’s lead swimmer following Rio’s end: running into Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt while snapchatting.

Aisha Chow, TT’s first Olympic rower, has also become a darling in the eyes of the public. The 39-year-old finished fifth in the Women’s single sculls semifinals in 8:02:53 in the Lagoa Stadium, ruling her out of a medal contention. She will row for a place and world rankings in today C/D Semifinal 2.

Chow’s initial race was postponed due to choppy waters last Sunday, and she then finished fifth in her heat which meant that she needed a top-two finish in her rep?chage to make the quarters. She did so in 8:04:21 behind Algeria’s Amina Roubin to dazzle TT fans. The biopharmaceutical scientist described her qualification as a “success” and as a “tough but realistic goal” while downplaying any medal expectations.

Chow acknowledged that the conditions were testing with respect to wind and the calmness of water as well as issues such as muscle cramps which all affected her performance, but rightly pointed out that infrastructure needs to be put in place locally to foster the next generation of rowers.

“Really my focus for this Olympic Games was to just qualify for the quarterfinals.

For me that’s a huge success. For me it was a huge stretch and so I would definitely do my best going forward in the quarterfinals. But for me, just making it to the quarterfinals is amazing. I know my family’s really happy for me,” she stated on the achievement without an ounce of regret as she knows she did her country proud.

“It’s been absolutely amazing representing Trinidad and Tobago. On a personal level, it’s been an honour and a privilege. On a broader scale, the support from family and friends and the government has just been amazing. Rowing in the single sculls has been a bit lonely as rowing is mostly a team sport,” she added.

Nineteen-year-old Marisa Dick, our Canadian-born gymnast, overcame her selection controversy, and became the country’s first gymnast in a performance she promised to improve upon for the future. She hopes to continue competing for TT while helping inspire and build future gymnasts.

She ended the women’s individual all-around competition in the qualifying round with a score of 50.832. Dick finished in 42nd place out of 48 competitors as she looked uncertain in routines on the vault (13.900), the balance beam (13.066), the floor (12.533) and also the uneven bars (11.333). All in all, she described Rio as a “learning experience”.

Our 30-year-old sailor, Andrew Lewis echoed similar sentiment.

In the men’s laser (dinghy) he was 42nd overall out of 46 athletes with six out of 10 races completed. However, his optimism remained undeterred despite finishing in spots 42, 34, 39, 36, 40 and 34 in the races thus far.

On making his second Olympics after a disastrous injury in Brazil last year when a wall fell on him, requiring him to undergo reconstructive surgery, he said, “It’s been a true blessing. I thank the Almighty for having me here (today) allowing me to compete for Trinidad and Tobago.

“The event, I came into it with dreams and aspirations of doing my country proud and I think that what I’m doing so far, everyone’s been happy with how I’ve placed.

I haven’t been doing the results I would have loved to be doing but I gotta keep it real sometimes.

Having the accident, I had eight months ago and being here today right now and beating people regardless of who it is, is still a feat, you know.” Lewis described how exasperating it was getting back in his boat, and said that just appearing was a victory. “It was first, coming out of the hospital and learning to walk again, learning to eat again, learning to breathe again and (learning) all the basics back. And then from there, it was all about slowly but surely getting back stronger in the gym, working with the trainer, working with different people to help me get back on my feet literally. From there it was, once I got the all-go ahead from the doctor, to get back on the boat.

And three and a half months later after the accident, I was on the boat. (I) still didn’t know if I’d be able to compete as I had to train again. Learning the techniques, the trends in the boat and all these different things to get back fit and stronger. And so said, so done. Seven and a half months (later), we’re back in now and I’m competing in the Games.” If anything, Lewis embodies the unwavering and unrelenting spirit of TT.

In competition yesterday, neither Christopher George nor George Bovell was able to move past the first round in their respective events.

George went down in the Men’s 100 kg judo round of 32 to Myanmar’s Yan Naing Soe, while Bovell finished third in Heat 8 of the Men’s 50m freestyle qualifying round. However, his time of 22:30 was not fast enough to take him to the semi-final.