Cyclist Njisane Phillips lost out on a medal at the Olympic Games in London because he rode in the wrong gear, causing him to become leg-weary. Former national cyclist Ian Atherly expressed this view yesterday after Phillips placed fourth in the match sprint on Monday and seventh in the keirin yesterday. Atherly said had he used the right gear, Phillip would have brought home an Olympic medal. "It is my personal belief, from looking at Njisane ride, that he was misrepresented by his handler in respect to the gear which he rode. He was not smooth. There was not enough hip action...hammering his gear. In other words, his gear was too high. "As a result Njisane became leg-weary, and it became worse as the competition went on. There was no way he could have medalled under those conditions. I saw the other riders' performance and I had him as the gold medal winner. Had he started off on a lighter gear, he would have been medalling in more than one game."
Atherly said the other competitors recognised the gear he was using and they catered their ride to suit: "His legs were shot. He hurt himself from beinging in so high a gear and he is still in pain." Atherly, who served previously as chairman of the Southern Games, said, "He has to now take a long rest from international competitions. I am old school but his muscle tissues, as far as I am concerned, are bleeding all now, so physiotherapy or whatever is used now has to be applied." Atherly, a former PNM mayor of San Fernando, also took a jab at the Government for not showing more interest in sports by providing the necessary resources for athletes: "We continue, as sportsmen and women, to show all governments of T&T that we are world-class, and nobody seems to have that confidence in us. I am saying as a sports person myself, having gone through similar things, there are medals for Njisane and other Trinidadians at that level. It is not too late to start now for Rio games." The 2016 Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
