Jehue steals show at SOSA

Hurdler Jehue Gordon was named this country’s top athlete for 2013 at the third annual Spirit of Sport Awards (SOSA), staged by the Ministry of Sports and Sport Company of T&T (SporTT), at Queen’s Hall in St Ann’s, Port-of-Spain, on Saturday. Gordon walked away with the lion’s share of the prizes, copping the Male Athlete of the Year, Consistent Performer of the Year, Breakthrough Performance of the Year and the prestigious Sport Performance of the Year titles. Gordon who ended the season as the top ranked athlete in his event in the world, won gold for T&T in the 400-metre hurdle  at the  World Championships in Moscow, Russia, back in August, before repeating at the Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium, a month later. In this the season of giving, the first class multiple-award winning athlete was in receipt a lot of gifts.

Gordon received a cheque valued at $800,000 on behalf of the Government and people of T&T, presented by permanent secretary Ashwin Creed. Later, Jearlean John, managing director at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) joined Gordon on the stage to present him with the keys to his new home –a duplex in the community of Maracas, St Joseph. Then, to the young athlete’s delight, his coach Dr Ian Hypolite made the honour roll when named as Coach of the Year. Junior swimmer Shanntol Ince and multiple gold medal winner at the 2013 Youth Para Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was another big winner on the night taking home awards for Athlete with a Disability and Emerging Athlete of the Year; and justifiably so.
The Paralympic athlete secured gold in 400m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle at the first junior event and believes these victories provides her with the impetus to medal successfully at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Each time Ince took the stage it was to thunderous applause. Then came her opportunity to deliver plaudits to other award recipients; this time her parents Tracy & St. Paul Ince winners of the Parent of the Year title. Gymnast Marisa Dick beat out competition in other front-line sport to clinch the Female Athlete of the Year. But the biggest upset of the night came in the presentation of Team of the Year award which saw the national senior men’s rugby squad rise to better the might of the national cricket and hockey teams respectively.  As fate would have it, however, that was not where awards for the sport of rugby ended. Kwanieze John, one of the sports tops athletes and avid campaigner secured the Community Champion of the Year to the delight of her peers. When it came time to recognise the role of the media in the development of sports, the T&T Guardian’s Vinode Mamchan copped the Print Journalist of the Year for the second consecutive year, while Kent Fuentes of State-owned CNMG was voted Electronic Journalist of the Year.

Express photo editor Robert Taylor emerged as the best lensman. The award for Record-Breaking Performance of the Year went to Dylan Carter while the Comeback Performance of the Year prize was awarded to track athlete Romona Modeste. Veteran sportswoman Marjorie John now joins Olympic medal winner Rodney Wilkes, as well as the late Emmanuel McDonald Bailey who were inducted into the SOSA Hall of Fame, being a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. The feisty 81-year-old sporting achiever received a standing ovation and went on to challenge Sport Minister Anil Roberts to a race around the Queen’s Park Savannah, with the promise that he would get a head start, to the delight of the audience.

Honour Roll

Male Athlete of the Year: Jehue Gordon (Athletics)
Breakthrough Performance of the Year: Jehue Gordon (Athletics)
Sport Performance of the Year: Jehue Gordon
Coach of the Year: Dr. Ian Hypolite (Athletics)
Consistent Performer of the Year: Jehue Gordon (Athletics)
Female Athlete of the Year: Marisa Dick (Gymnastics)
Community Sport Programme of the Year: KFC/Comets Youth Development Programme and Deaf Sports Organisation of T&T
Community Champion of the Year: Kwanieze John
Athlete with a Disability: Shanntol Ince (Paralympics)
Emerging Athlete of the Year: Shanntol Ince (Paralympic Swimming)
Manager of the Year: Dexter Voisin (Athletics)
Technical Team: Ian Sharpe (Athletics)
Record-Breaking Performance: Dylan Carter (Swimming)
Comeback Performance of the Year: Romona Modeste (Athletics)
Parents of the Year: Tracy & St. Paul Ince
Journalist of the Year (Electronic): Kent Fuentes, CNMG
Journalist (Print) : Vinode Mamchan, T&T Guardian
Sport Picture: Robert Taylor, Express