Nicholas Paul executed a perfect ride in the men’s keirin final Thursday to secure Trinidad and Tobago’s second gold medal of the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Santiago, Chile. Meanwhile, Akil Campbell, following in the footsteps of his sister, Teniel, brought the T&T medal tally to four by claiming bronze in the men’s scratch race.
Njisane Phillip came perilously close to adding another medal to the T&T cabinet in the men’s keirin final, but he was edged out by Canadian Nick Wammes in a mad dash to the finish line.
Both Paul and Phillip gave hope of mounting the podium with superb displays in the semifinals, both advancing in similar fashion. Paul secured his win in semifinal heat one after surging from fourth position behind the derny to catch Edgar Verdugo, who had attempted an early breakaway. The powerful Trinidadian, who became the fastest man on wheels in 2019 with a world-record 9.100 seconds in the flying 200m in Cochabamba, Bolivia, displayed the explosive speed to get ahead of the field and maintained it to the finish.
His arch-rival, Kevin Quintero of Colombia, secured the runner-up spot to alsoseal his place in the final alongside third-placed James Hedgcock of Canada.
In the second semifinal, two-time Olympian Phillip settled into third as the derny entered the track but wasted no time taking the front. Rolling back the years, he proved he still has the legs to go all the way. However, in the title ride, despite showing strong form throughout, Phillip could not find a way around Wammes. Paul, meanwhile, seized the front and held it, bolting across the line with his hands lifted in triumph.
Endurance rider Akil Campbell followed in the footsteps of his sister, Teniel Campbell, by medaling in the scratch race. Akil, who in 2021 became the first T&T endurance rider to medal at the Pan Am Track Championships, delivered a dogged performance. He secured vital points from breakaways to claim bronze in the 15km event. Conor White of Bermuda took gold, while USA’s Grant Koontz earned silver. Gabriel Nava Romo (Mexico), Omar Mendez (Argentina), and Jose Martinez rounded out the top six, respectively.
Meanwhile, Makaira Wallace failed to make it to the round of four in the women’s match sprint. A double bronze medallist at the Junior Pan American Games in Paraguay, Wallace showed much promise at the start, when she made an early dash to hold off Gaxiola Gonzalez in the first of three rides in quarterfinal heat three.
However, the Mexican came back stronger and determined, forcing a decider by winning the second ride. In the third and final ride, both went into an all-out sprint, but Gonzalez prevailed to secure her berth in the semifinals.
Wallace, who pulled out of the team sprint, was among three riders who contested the sprints. Her teammates, Kyra Williams and Phoebe Sandy, also progressed from qualifiers but were eliminated in the matchups.
Another T&T rider, Alexi Ramirez, also faced the starter’s gun in the women’s elimination race but finished eighth.
