Can you remember when you were 17 years old? Not many of us can but most of us wish we could roll back the years to 17.
However, there is a 17-year-old in Paris, France with a desire to deliver on her mind in the swimming pool at the Paris La Defense Arena.
On Monday, one 17-year-old is set for history as Zuri Ferguson becomes the first competitor from T&T to participate in the Paris Olympic Games. After a training session with national coach Dexter Browne, four-time Olympian Dylan Carter and 2004 Olympic bronze medallist George Bovell, who also represented T&T at the 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics, there is a lot in her favour when she lines up in lane six of heat two of the 100 metres backstroke at 5.13 am (T&T time).
"She was very attentive at the training and we all felt it went well," coach Browne told Guardian Media. "She is a hard-working and talented young lady and we worked on some areas that we believe could help her to give everything on Monday (today) and maybe achieve a personal best."
He added: “Her kick at the 50m mark which is normally a good sign, has all of us believing in her as she goes out to make everyone proud."
On Sunday, thanks to the efforts of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC), young Ferguson was able to get a very good surprise.
"The TTOC was graciously able to arrange passes for her family to come visit her at the village. Her mum, her dad, her grandparents and siblings and I know that made her even more comfortable and settled. These sort of moments really matter for an athlete," remarked Browne, who said Ferguson has been "so" calm.
"She is really settled. They came to do a random drug test on her and she was ok with it. Two young ladies from the welfare team and she says it is not her first time so she was very calm and receptive to a lot of stuff which defies her age.
"She is raring to go and to enjoy this experience as I think this will motivate her even more to want to be back and this is what we want,” said Browne.
"If we continue to give her support and other young swimmers we can all benefit as we have a lot of talent but we just need to give them the right support and ensure there are persons around to guide them," noted the highly-respected Browne.
Ferguson will compete against Celina Marquez of El Salvador, Guatemalan Lucero Mejia, Hong Kong's Cindy Cheung, Xeniya Ignatova of Kazakstan, Aviv Barzelay of Israel, Dominican Republic's Elizabeth Jimenez and Amani Alobaidli of Bahrain in heat two of five. The 16 fastest from the heats qualify for the semifinals while the remainder are eliminated.
T&T's other swimmer at the Paris Games, Carter opens competition tomorrow in the men's 100m freestyle, the first of two events, at 5.31 am. The 28-year-old will next compete on Thursday in the 50m freestyle at 5.32 am.
