WALTER ALIBEY
walter.alibey@guardian.co.tt
Cyclist Nicholas Paul, sprinter Jereem Richards and boxer Nigel Paul are among a large field of athletes that will battle for this year’s First Citizens Sports Foundation Award on March 26.
The athletes were chosen following a thorough and exhaustive selection process by the Selection Committee which is headed by Dr Terry Ali.
Boxer Paul, an Olympic participant in 2016, was a bronze medal winner at the AIBA World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia last year, a feat that ensured he pocketed US$25, 000 in earnings. The results by the super heavyweight fighter were the best achievement ever by a T&T boxer at the event. After executing a 4-1 victory over Albania’s Nelson Hysa, Paul proceeded to enjoy a win over Ayoub Ghadfa of Spain by the same margin before clobbering Turk Berat Acar by a 4-1 margin.
He was eventually beaten by Russia’s Mark Petrovskii in the semifinal.
Paul’s name-sake cyclist Nicholas Paul made a name for himself at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan last year, with more-than-impressive performances in the match-sprint and keirin.
The 23-year old also earned a silver medal at the 1 km time trial at the UCI Track World Championships in Roubaix, France, last October, clocking 59.269 seconds to finish 0.523 seconds behind Dutchman Jeffrey Hoogland. This was followed by a Paul triple triumph at the UCI Nations Cup in Cali, Colombia, where he won gold medals in the 1 km time trial and keirin and sprint.
Meanwhile, Jereem Richards overcame all challenges caused by no travel and other training limitations to seal victories in the 200 metres at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, Florida and the USATF Grand Prix meet in Eugene, Oregon in times of 20.37 and 20.26 seconds, respectively.
Another highlight was a third-place finish at the USATF Golden Games in Walnut, California, where he clocked 20.20.
NOMINEES:
1- Basketball (Male), Adrian Joseph, Basketball (Female) Kielle Connelly
2- Boxing (Male) Nigel Paul, Juan Rodriguez
3- Canoe Sprint (Male) Nicholas Robinson; Rowing (Female) Felice Aisha Chow
4- Chess (Male) Alan-Safar Ramoutar, Chess (Female) Gabriella Johnson, Zara La Fleur
5- Cycling (Male) Nicholas Paul, Ryan D’Abreau; Cycling (Female) Teniel Campbell
6- Football (Male) Aubrey David; Football (Female) Kennya Cordner
7- Hockey (Male) Teague Marcano, Nicholas Whiteman; Hockey (Female) Shaniah De Freitas, Tahirah Wynne
8- Horse Racing (Male) Brian Boodramsingh
9- Judo (Male) Aidan Greaves; Judo (Female) Gabriella Wood.
10- Netball (Female) Samantha Wallace
11- Sailing (Male) Andrew Lewis, Stefan Stüven
12- Shooting (Male) Thomas Nicholas; Shooting (Female) Karen D’Abreu
13- Swimming (Male) Dylan Carter, Nikoli Blackman; Swimming (Female) Cherelle Thompson, Zoe Anthony
14- Table Tennis (Male) Khaleel Asgarali, Derron Douglas; Table Tennis (Female) Rheann Chung, Chloe Fraser
15- Tennis (Male) Kamran McIntosh-Ross, Louis Kale Dalla Costa; Tennis (Female) Aalisha Alexis, Jordane Dookie
16- Track and Field (Male) Jereem Richards, Shakeem McKay; Track and Field (Female) Tyra Gittens, Janae de Gannes
17- Volleyball (Male) Daynte Stewart, Nicholas Williams; Volleyball (Female) Rayquelle Dickson, Natassia Baptiste