'Inching closer to Olympic qualification' is how interim T&T Cycling Federation president Joseph Roberts has described the T&T cycling team, following the riders' performances at the Pan Am Championship in Lima, Peru recently.
The sprint team of Nicholas Paul, Njisane Phillip and Keron Bramble secured a gold medal in the team sprint, while the pair of Paul and Phillip received gold and silver medals respectively, having both contested the match-sprint finals.
Meanwhile, Teniel Campbell, who is already on the verge of an Olympic spot that could make her the only local female participant to qualify for the Olympics, is set to spring into action at the Pan Am in the Time Trial and Road Race events.
The team was scheduled to return home late last night and will be involved in a meet-and-greet this afternoon at 2 pm, at the office of the T&T Olympic Committee on Abercromby Street by Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Shamfa Cudjoe, Brian Lewis, president of the T&T Olympic Committee and other dignitaries.
Roberts told Guardian Media Sports yesterday the performances of the cyclists have put the team in a better position ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo Japan next year.
"We went into the championship with hopes of getting medals and we did that. We were hoping to better our performances and improve on our times to be competitive with our international counterparts, and we did that. Now it's all about us getting better and improving as the time goes by," Roberts said.
He explained further "We just need to continue working as diligently as we have been under technical director Erin Hartwell, who has done a great deal with the riders. once they continue to work hard we are going to see improvements and Olympic qualification. To qualify for the Olympics, the riders need only to be among the top eight after all the qualifying events," Roberts explained.
The local cycling boss, who took over from Robert Farrier who stepped down two months ago, believes also that the achievements of the cyclists have been a tremendous boost to local riders, and sports in general in T&T.
The cyclists will have little to no time to celebrate, as they are scheduled to swing back into training tomorrow, in preparation for the coming Elite Pan Am Championship in Bolivia later this year, September 4-11.
Paul, by virtue of his accomplishments in Peru, was elevated to 6th in the world by the UCI in the individual sprints after being awarded a total of 300 points (200 from match sprint and 100 from team sprint), while Phillip moved to 37th by accumulating 200 points from his runner-up spot in the match sprint and victory in the team sprint. Bramble too climbed to 123rd in the individual sprints and Browne 17th in the keirin.