Lausanne will host the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games after overcoming Romanian rival Brașov in a two-horse race, it has been announced today.
The Swiss city, home to the IOC headquarters since 1915 and considered the "Olympic Capital", duly becomes the third host of the event following an inaugural event in Innsbruck in 2012 and next year's edition scheduled for Lillehammer in Norway.
They won by a huge margin of 71 votes to 10.
Lausanne, which was praised in particular for its good use of existing, temporary and demountable venues, was the heavy favourite leading into the contest following a lacklustre performance by its Romanian rival.
It was helped by a strong and emotive presentation showcasing the sporting credentials of Switzerland and utilising home-grown sporting stars including tennis players Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.
“What a beautiful gift to celebrate the 100 years of Olympism in Lausanne!" said the city's Mayor Daniel Brélaz afterwards.
"Lausanne, Olympic city, a sport city, a young city: it is a perfect mix, and I am extremely proud that the IOC recognised it."
"Now, let’s get to work!”
The Games are set to be held between January 10 and 19 in 2020, with over 1,000 teenage athletes set to compete.
A review of sports, disciplines and events will take place after the February's Games in the Norwegian resort, with the overall list of events to be completed approximately three years beforehand.
“Sixty-seven years after the Winter Games in St. Moritz, it is a great honour to have contributed in bringing the Games back to Switzerland," added bid leader and International Olympic Committee member Patrick Baumann.
"This project has enormous potential for a country that has snow sports in its DNA.
"I am convinced that this is the start of a great journey.”
Gordon determined to defend his title
World Athletics Championship 400-metre hurdles victor Jehue Gordon is expressing confidence that he can repeat his winning performance witnessed two years ago in Moscow Russia.
Back in 2013 Gordon won gold in the men's 400 m hurdles in 47.69 to upset race favourite Michael Tinsley of the United States who ran 47.70. The 2015 edition of the meet hosted by the IAAF was scheduled to take place from August 22-30 in Beijing, China, at which Gordon intended to defend his title.
“You saw how I ran, so I guess you will see it again. They (people of T&T) know that I always give it my best. So it’s always about T&T at the end of the day: win, lose or draw. My main aim is to get back as fit and as healthy as possible and definitely give it my best shot at the World Championships,” he said.
Gordon–who was forced to pull out of the Pan American Games held in Toronto, Canada, a mere two weeks ago, when his training camp discovered an injury that could have worsened had he competed at the tournament–said training was good and the team was working and looking ahead to Beijing.
“Right now we are working on it. We are working together as a team. Nothing is ever guaranteed. Sport is very iffy. Anything could happen on the day. Nobody’s name is written on the medals as yet. Once I go out and give it my best performance!
Even as he kept his eyes on the prize, his pursuit of higher education had not waned. Come September, Gordon would graduate from the University of the West Indies with first class honours in sports management. Things have been a lot different since that victory, he said, in terms of the life shaping opportunities that came before him. But he kept his feet firmly on the ground, conscious there was a time and place for everything.
Gordon turned his attention to the work of the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) and lauded its president Brian Lewis who through established an Athlete Welfare Fund and was to rallying corporate T&T and the public at large to pledge financial support for the 10 or more goal medal by 2024.
“We see what sport does for a nation, especially with people like Njisane Phillip, George Bovell, Keshorn Walcott and Cleopatra Borel. We have a good crop of athletes coming up especially the young Machel Cedenio. It’s not to say that the future is dull for T&T, it’s just that we need to support our athletes more and show them the respect that they deserve, because at the end of the day, we make a lot of sacrifices to make sure that’s T&T is on the map. And, if we don’t do that, who is going to? he asked.
Gordon lamented the fact that basic amenities for elite athlete training were still not available in T&T, no because a lack of resources, but the poor mind sets. Many, he said, still haven’t grasped the concept of professionalism when meeting the needs of the nation’s athletes.
“When we go outside, we see what it takes and what it means to be a professional. In T&T, we are accustomed to this lack-lustre culture where it’s always a short term goal or short term thinking. We really don’t think outside the box as T&T nationals when it comes to stuff like that. We only see the end result. If they can come and live in the athletes shoes for a certain point in time, they would see the difficulties that we are faced with,” he said.
Sprint gold for St Forte
...Warren bags shot put silver
Khalifa St Forte won the Women’s 100m final at the Pan American Junior Games in Edmonton, Canada on Friday evening. The American-born athlete, who is coached by Ato Boldon, clocked 11.31 to edge American Aleiba Hobbs (11.50) and Teahna Daniels (11.54) into second and third respectively.
The 17-year-old had set a new national Under 18 record (11.19) two weeks ago when she won silver at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Colombia. Her achievement came on the eve of the 19th anniversary of her coach’s 200m bronze medal run at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
In other events, Portious Warren won the silver in the Women’s Shot Put after throwing a personal best of 15.57m in her second attempt. The gold was won by Raven Saunders of the USA, who smashed the old meet record (17.55m) with 18.27m on her second throw. She also bettered the mark on her third (17.63m) and sixth (17.60m) attempts.
Meanwhile, Jeminise Parris was fourth in the Women’s 100m Hurdles final, coming in at 13.98. American Dior Hall won the gold in 13.20 with Ecuador’s Maribel Caicedo (13.45) and Jamaican Daeshon Gordon (13.70) winning silver and bronze respectively.
Andwuelle Wright was fifth in the Men’s Long Jump with a 7.51m effort in his fourth attempt. His teammate Che Richards was 11th with 7.08m. Topping the field was Cuban Juan Miguel Echevarria with 7.76m, followed by Bahaman Laquan Nairn (7.65m) and American Keandre Bates (7.54m). Aaron Lewis just qualified for the Men’s 110m Hurdles final when he finished fourth in his heat in a time of 13.92. Ahead of him were Jamaica Seanie Selvin (13.71), American Marquis Morris (13.76) and Puerto Rican Richard Torres (13.83). The final was scheduled for last night.
Kayelle Clarke did not finish her Women’s 200m heat, which was won by Bajan Sada Williams in 23.46. The National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) of T&T has extend its congratulations to both medallist winners St Fort and Warren.
Today's action will see Kenejah Williams in the Men's Shot Put and Omari Benoit in the Men's High Jump. The Women's 4x100m relay team of St Forte, Jendayi Noel, Kayelle Clarke and Jael Fergusson will enter the final while Joash Huggins, Corey Stewart, Francis Louis and Nathan Farinha will take part in the Men's 4x100m final.
Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee offer bonuses for medal winners at Pan American Games
Monetary bonuses are to be offered by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) to national athletes competing here at the Pan American Games as part of a plan to improve sporting performances, it has been announced.
Any athlete who receives a medal at an competition associated with the national team, beginning at Toronto 2015, which opened here last night, will be offered these incentives, with the highest award of $3,000 (£1,900/€2,700) being offered to a gold medal winner in an individual event.
Relay runners and those competing in team events will receive different levels of incentives.
The initiative follows the launch last December of the Caribbean country's #10Golds24 drive to improve sporting levels at Rio 2016 and beyond, an effort engineered by TTOC President Brian Lewis.
Offering bonuses is seen as a key way to encourage athletes into sport, and to take that step up to the top level.
Most of Trinidad and Tobago's medal hopes here will compete next week when athletics competition begins, with the biggest hope undoubtedly Olympic champion javelin thrower Keshorn Walcott, fresh from a mammoth a national record of 90.16 metres to win the DIamond League meeting in Lausanne last Thursday (July 9).
Sprinter Kelly-Ann Baptiste and up and coming 400m talent Machel Cedenio are other leading hopes, while Athens 2004 swimming Olympic bronze medalist George Bovell is probably the leading contender away from the track and the field.
“The introduction of medal bonuses is an essential component of the ten or more Olympic Gold medals athlete welfare and preparation programme," a statement from the TTOC said.
“In pursuit of its strategic goals and objectives, the TTOC acknowledges the support of its corporate partners: bpTT, Guardian Group, Scotiabank, adidas, Lisa Communications and NLCB.
“Its an exciting time for the TTOC."
The announcement follows the launch earlier this month of a landmark "Going for Gold" project introduced by the TTOC in conjunction with the National Lotteries Control Board in order to raise funds for potential Olympians.
Judo on the rise in T&T
Trinidad and Tobago judo is reinventing itself. That is the message from local instructor Mark Littrean, who is the head of the Queen’s Park Judo Club, and an executive member of Judo TT, the governing body of the sport.
The Judo fraternity has been dormant for some time in T&T, but finally is beginning to emerge again as an alternative sport for youngsters and young adults in the country.
The former Trinidad and Tobago Judo Association (TTJA) rebranded itself two years ago to the current Judo TT image, and the emphasis is now on young judoka across the country. The TTJA had been established in 1966. However, there had been a number of years in which the previous administration was unable to galvanise the sport into wide-scale recognition.
"It had a lot to do with our failure to effectively promote the sport," Littrean said. "We never really put together a comprehensive and effective programme where we were able to promote the sport."
Littrean has been practising the art for 29 years, starting when he was in university under the tutelage of Kiyoshi Shiina, a Japanese instructor based in the US. He currently holds the rank of fourth dan, or fourth-degree black belt and was nominated for the WITCO Sportsman of the Year Awards twice during the 1990s. In 1996, he established the Queen's Park Judo Club which has been in operation ever since.
"What motivates me is the mutual respect," he said. "It changes lives... in this sport, people will be able to go hard at each other and at the end there's still a bow." It was this motivation that led him to establish the QPJC in an attempt to help decentralise and spread the art. The TTJA was the only fixed point where enthusiasts could get top-level judo training.
Nowadays, under the new direction mandated by both QPJC and Judo TT, some young talents are beginning to emerge, which augurs well for the sport in the Olympic context.
"We have Luke Walker from St Mary's College," Littrean said.
Walker is a 15-year-old 2nd kyu or blue belt.
He added: "Xavier Jones recently returned from the USA Judo Junior Olympic International Tournament in Dallas, where he came second in the boys over 64 kilogramme division."
Jones is a 14-year-old judoka from Fatima College who Littrean said could be in contention for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "Gabriella Wood is undoubtedly one of the leading female judoka right now," he said further. The St Joseph Convent Port of Spain student recently won silver at the Pan Am Open Junior circuit last month.
As a part of their strategy to raise the profile of the martial art, Judo TT has negotiated with the"Citizen Security Programme" to administer judo in at-risk areas. The judo governing body also received funding from the programme for a six-month period between May and November this year.
The QPJC under the Judo TT umbrella has also spearheaded the secondary school programme, which includes Dunross Preparatory, Maria Regina Grade School, Holy Name Convent, Fatima College, Queen's Royal College and St Joseph's Convent Port of Spain.
The QPJC is located at 33 Picton Street Newtown, and sessions range among children starting at six-years-old, to teenagers and adults. Children train on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while the adult class takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Five medals for TT Special Olympics swimmers
The Special Olympics swim team are a proud bunch after splashing to five medals — three gold, two bronze — at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Los Angeles, USA, recently.
Bringing home the gold for this country are Nikoli Lalla (50m breaststroke), Chavez Lamy (25m backstroke) and Jariah Walker (25 m backstroke). Clinching bronze in the 50m freestyle was Shania Surujbally, bouncing back in style from a fourth place finish in another race.
And yesterday, Melissa Nanan, competing in the 25m backstroke, stopped the clock at 30.01 seconds to finish in third place behind Croatia’s Tanja Zabic (29.05) and Uruguay’s Paula Bonifacio (29.96).
Earlier, Lalla and and Lamy had sounded a warning to their rivals with victories in the preliminary rounds while Walker was second but performed to his peak when it counted in the final.