Top athletes for Southern Games

TRINIDAD and Tobago sprint champion Clinton Grant, the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation 2002 “Cyclist of the Year” Elisha Greene and national road race champion Emile Abraham are expected to throw the gauntlet down to the foreign cyclists at the Southern Games which comes off next Saturday and Sunday.

The venue is Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre. The top local and foreign riders have always created the thrills and excitement at these annual Games which was re-started by the Southern Sports and Cultural Foundation, headed by former national cyclist Anthony Commissiong. The TT contingent has not been named but, according to a reliable source, the three are the prime contenders for place on the five-member national squad which will be selected tomorrow. At the media conference held yesterday at the Petrotrin Staff Club, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, co-ordinator of the Games, Jimkins Clarke, provided a list of foreign cyclists and athletes who have been invited to participate.

Japan-based English professional Peter Jacques is already in the country and he will feature prominently in the kilometre event as well as the shorter and longer distances. The former United Kingdom three-time kieren champion fancies his chances against the opposition. “I am an all rounder in this sport. I can race with the sprinters and also hold my own against the guys in the longer races. I won some events at previous Games in TT, and I am in good form to get among the top finishers,” he said. He and Czechoslovakia’s top junior sprinters Petr Klimes and Filipe Sustr were also present at the media launch. Klimes, 20, was the former Swiss junior sprint champion until he moved up to the senior ranks which allowed Sustr to emerge as the new junior champion last year.

TT’s Grant and Greene will not only have the two Swiss contenders to deal with but have to be at their best to hold off Cuba’s Julio Herrera, Joel Marinio and Michael Pedrosa, Scotland’s Stef Collins and Canada’s Keith Brunea. Herrera was the World’s junior sprint champion in 1994. On the athletics track, the showdown will definitely be between national 10k champion and Clico’s new marathon record holder Pamenos Ballantyne of St Vincent and the Grenadines who will clash in the feature 1,500 and 5,000 events. Guyana’s Carifta Games 5,000 metres gold medallist Cleveland Forde will be tested among his seniors in both distances. Cuba, Jamaica, Antigua, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela are also sending some of their leading athletes which will add further tempo among the seniors.

Carifta champion Janil Williams and top sprinter Heather Samuel will fly Antigua’a flag while Venezuela will be represented by Southern Games defending 800 and 1,500 metres champion Manuel Gonzalez, Jose Carabali (sprinter), Luis Luna (400m) and Yoly Mendoza (5000m). Among the sponsors confirmed are Classic Caterers, Awardy Hardware, TECU Credit Union, National Lotteries Control Board, Trinweld, Caribbean Proctective Coatings, Sissons Paints, Southern Wholesale Store, Penta Paints, National Gas Company, Neal and Massy Motors, Southern United Agencies and Central Navigation. Both Commissiong and Clarke are appealing to other corporate sponsors to come forward and help make the Games a success. They still need more money to be able to bring all the athletes and cyclists who indicated a willingness to participate. Prime Minister Patrick Manning is the patron of the Games and is expected to deliver the opening address. Top local juniors preparing for the Carifta Games are also expected to showcase their talents.