FEMALE BOXERS Lorissa Rivas and Swedish world champion Mikaela Lauren scored convincing knock out victories and exchanged fighting words ahead of their showdown next month for Lauren’s World Boxing Council (WBC) super-welterweight title.
In what served as warm-up bouts for both Lauren and Rivas, at the Jean Pierre Complex Saturday night, the pair stopped their respective opponents.
Rivas (seven wins, three defeats), a US-based fighter with Trinidad and Tobago roots, sent Guyanese Sharon “Iron Jaw” Warde (eight wins, six defeats) to the canvas for the first time in Warde’s career.
Warde had to be attended to by the ringside doctor before she rose from the mat roughly three minutes after the knockout punch in the fifth round.
Rivas then crossed paths with Lauren, who was making her entrance to the ring for her bout against Colombia’s Celia Road Sierra. Rivas and Lauren exchanged barbs. In the main co-feature bout, the 39-year-old Lauren (24 wins, 3 defeats) sent a feisty Sierra to the canvas at 1.13 into the third round.
Results
Lt. Heavyweight (4 rounds)
Sheldon Lawrence (T&T) vs. Romeo Norville (Guy.)
Lawrence scored 1st round TKO victory over Norville
Super-middleweight (6 rounds)
Joel McRae (Guy) vs. Carlos Leal (Ven.)
McRae scored 1st round KO over Norville
Catch weight (6 rounds)
Prince-Lee Isidore (T&T) vs. Ian Blue (T&T)
Isidore scored third round TKO over Blue
(Women) Super-middleweight (6 rounds)
Lorissa Rivas (USA) vs. Sharon Warde (Guy)
Rivas scored fifth round TKO over Warde
(Women) Super-welter
weight (6 rounds)
Mikaela Lauren (Sweden) vs. Celia Road Sierra (Colombia)
Lauren scored third round TKO over Sierra
Heavyweight (4 rounds)
Dwayne Hinds (T&T) vs. Kenneth ‘Iron Man” Bishop (T&T)
Bishop won by a unanimous decision
Mixed Martial Arts
(Bout 1 - 150 lbs)
Ande Lackhan (Bio Mel Boxing Gym) vs. Randy Sooknarine (Rough House)
— Sooknarine won by submission
(Bout 2 - 170 lbs)
Brandon La Croix vs. Sion Elder — La Croix scored first round TKO over Elder
Coe makes case for IAAF presidency
British middle-distance great Sebastian Coe has a vision to showcase track and field on non-traditional stages.“I want the sport to start being delivered in more creative ways, not always in the stadium. I want it to take to the streets, to shopping centres. It’s got to attract people that wouldn’t normally go into a stadium.”
Coe was speaking at a press conference at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, on Friday evening, shortly after arriving in the country. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) vice-president was on a short visit, to seek the support of the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) in his bid for the IAAF presidency.
Coe, a double Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist, is running against another former Olympic champion, Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka for leadership of track and field’s world governing body. Bubka is also a vice-president of the IAAF. The election will be held in August in Beijing, China.
At Friday’s press conference, NAAA president Ephraim Serrette was non-committal on which of the candidates his organisation would back for the IAAF presidency.
“We welcome the visit of Seb to share with us his vision and how it could help Trinidad and Tobago as a federation,” said Serrette.
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” Coe quipped, in response.
Coe applauded enthusiastically when T&T’s first Olympic gold medallist, Hasely Crawford was introduced. Later, they shared a warm greeting.
“This is an extraordinary region of the world,” Coe told the local media. “You have delivered and developed and nurtured and coached some of the greatest athletes that have ever set foot on a track. And we need to make sure that the next generation of Haselys is there. And they won’t be, unless we deliver the sport in a different way.”
Coe declared that T&T would benefit if he succeeds Lamine Diack as IAAF president.
“I want to create a structure at headquarters that more closely reflects the demands of the federation. I know you’ve done some very interesting things here, particularly around throws, bringing in outside coaches to help you deliver the sport. We should be sitting alongside you doing that. I’m not always sure we are.
“Competition,” the former 800m world record holder continued, “is our shop window. Head-to-heads are what gets my kids up in the morning. They’ll get up at three or four o’clock in the morning to watch the final of the Australian Open if it’s Federer and Nadal. We need to get head-to-heads. We need to get the excitement that track and field can engender.”
T&T Olympic Committee (T&TOC) president Brian Lewis spoke highly of Coe during Friday’s press conference.
“He’s been credited with playing an influential role in the London 2012 Olympic Games, widely considered in the Olympic movement to be the best ever. And Lord Sebastian Coe, during the build-up to the London Games, always treated the small Olympic Committees, such as Trinidad and Tobago, fairly. His track record as someone who places the best interest of sport and the Olympic movement is well-established.”
Abilene’s Greaux hogs ‘Southern’ spotlight
Abilene Wildcats’ Kyle Greaux stole the spotlight at the 2015 Southern Games when he captured gold in the men’s 200 metres and 400 metres events at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, yesterday.
In the half-lap event, Memphis Pioneers’ Emmanuel Callender was quickest out of the blocks and led the field entering the homestretch, but Greaux would change gears to surge past his rival and pull away to win in a time of 20.84 seconds. Callender held second in 21.15 while Kevin Haynes of Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force was third in 21.32.
Earlier on the programme, Greaux powered to victory in the 400 metres event from Haynes and Kern Alexis of Memphis Pioneers. He stopped the clock in 47.73 seconds with Haynes and Alexis returning times of 48.19 and 48.24, respectively.
Kamaria Durant of Simplex was also a double gold medallist when she copped the women’s sprint double. She opened with gold in the 100 metres in a time of 11.78 seconds, from her club mate Onika Murray, 12.09, and Point Fortin’s Mauricia Prieto, also in 12.09.
In the 200 metres event, Durant took command of the race at the top of the homestretch to win easing down in 23.66 seconds, despite getting a late challenge from Prieto, who returned in 23.89. Murray bagged bronze in a time of 24.44 seconds.
And UTT Fast Track’s Josh Hamilton took the blue riband event with a golden 10.64 run in the men’s 100 metres. Hamilton was pressed all the way be his club mate Le Sean Noel and Joel Dillon of Simplex but maintained enough top end speed to get home. Noel returned in 10.66 for silver while Dillon collected bronze in 10.70.
Trinidad and Tobago’s World 400-metre hurdles champion, Jehue Gordon and Clifton Sylvester of the Defence Force turned the men’s invitational 800 metres into a two-man affair when they treated patrons to a prolonged stretch duel. Sylvester took up the running at the bell with Gordon in close attendance before drawing level coming off the final bend.
However, the Defence Force athlete dug deep to surge back in front over the final 40 metres to stop the clock at one minute, 54:71 seconds. Gordon had to settle for silver in 1:54:83 with George Smith, also of Defence Force, third in 1:55:32.
In the women’s invitational 800 metres, Memphis Pioneers’ Alena Brooks made amends for her second place finish in the 400 metres when she repelled the challenge of her club mate Dawnell Collymore to win in a time of two minutes, 11:68 seconds.
Similar to the men’s version, the two pulled away from the field to fight it out among themselves as Collymore would throw down her challenge entering the top of the homestretch. However, Brooks had enough left in her tank and held on gamely for the win. Collymore returned in 2:12:11 and Guyana’s Andrea Foster, third in 2:14:76.
And in the Boy’s U20 800 metres, Ashton Gill of Cougars romped to victory in one minute, 58:14 seconds. Abilene Wildcats’ Jeremiah Hamilton was second in 1:59:93 with Petrotrin Palo Seco’s Kriston Yahkarhim third in 2:00:82.
Ramona Modeste won gold in the women’s 400 metres event when she home ahead of Brooks and Danielle David of Point Fortin. The Abilene Wildcats’ quarter-miler stopped the clock at 55.12 seconds with Brooks returning in 55.77 and David, 57.86.
Cuba’s Livan Reyes was a facile winner of the men’s open invitational 5,000 metres event. Reyes took up the running on the second lap and would lead a group of five; Kirk Brown of Jamaica, St Lucia’s Jason Sayers, Pamenos Ballantyne of St Vincent and Jules La Rode, which separated themselves from the rest of the field.
At the bell he held a 40-metre advantage on Brown but would lengthen his strides to come home well clear in a time of 15 minutes, 29:73 seconds. Brown held second in 15:40:22 from Ballantyne, who was third in 15:43:14.
In the men’s invitational 1,500 metres event, Smith of Defence Force defied a spirited challenge from Guyana’s Cleveland Forde to prevail in four minutes, 02:62 seconds.
Forde returned in 4:02:90 with Sylvester third in 4:03:54. And Collymore emerged victorious in the women’s version in four minutes, 41:55 seconds. Linda Mc Dowel of St Vincent was second in 4:44:15 and Jamaica’s Danielle James, third in 4:48:47.
Olympic legend Sebastian Coe runs up air miles in bid to become world athletics boss
Sebastian Coe says he is self-funding trips to about 100 countries all over the world as part of his bid to become the boss of world athletics.
In an interview with Stuff.co.nz, Coe said his short stop in New Zealand was part of about 100 nations he has visited so far in preparation for the presidential election for the International Association of Athletics Federations in August.
Coe refused to say how much his flight, accommodation and expense costs for the trips had run up to but when asked how they would be covered, he said: "I've got a very understanding wife.
"I've been to many, many countries. It's certainly must be getting on for nearly one hundred," Coe said.
"A couple of weeks ago I was in Brazil, meeting with the 13 South American federation presidents, a few weeks before that I was in Egypt, in Sharm el-Sheikh, just before Christmas I met with 22 Arab-speaking nations, so yes, I'm travelling a lot.
"Today I fly off to the Gold Coast, to the Oceania track and field convention, and in a couple of weekends I'm in the Caribbean.
"I have a very understanding wife.
"That [self-funding] is how the campaign is being run at the moment.
"It's important, I think if you have the temerity to offer yourself up as president, I think it's incumbent upon you to understand the challenges of those federations you're wanting support from.
"Athletics is probably the most global of sports out there."
Coe, who is an IAAF vice-president, said his personal financial sacrifice was a reflection of how seriously he was taking his bid to go one chair higher in the organisation.
"I think it's something you have to do, I don't think you can pretend a campaign is only about listening to people that are in your own continent or in your own back yard.
"It's a global sport, there are global challenges and it's important someone stepping up to the plate understands what those challenges are."
Double Olympic champion Coe, who is also the chairman of the British Olympic Association and the man who ran London's 2012 Olympic Games, and Ukrainian pole vault icon Sergey Bubka are the front-runners in the race to be made IAAF boss in August.
Special Olympics National Games open today
The 33rd annual Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago (SOTT) National Games will be officially declared open today by President Anthony Carmona. The opening ceremony, which starts at 8am, will be held at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo with action in the various sports taking place until Sunday.
Today, athletics, football and bocce will be held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium while basketball bounces off at the Woodbrook Youth Facility. Powerlifting will be held at the Long Circular Fitness Centre with volleyball serving off at the Jean Pierre Complex.
Action continues tomorrow with aquatics at the Diego Martin Community Pool, equestrian (TT Police Service Mounted Branch), bocce and football (Hasely Crawford Stadium) also scheduled.
There will be a gala concert at 5.30pm today which has been organised in association with the Digicel Foundation.
Butcher targets top six world netball finish
Dr Patricia Butcher, president of the T&T Netball Association (TTNA) as well as the American Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) says former world champions, T&T should target a “Top Six” finish at the upcoming 14th Netball World Cup in Sydney Australia, from August 7-16.
The “Calypso Netballers” who won the world title in 1979 jointly with the Australia and New Zealand, will come up against the top two teams in the world, host Australia and New Zealand in Pool A as well as Caribbean rivals Barbados in round-robin play. Dr Butcher said the team should be aiming to improve on it seventh placed finish from four years ago in Singapore.
Speaking yesterday, Dr Butcher noted that the T&T team was now going through a transitional stage with a few senior players retiring over the past year, but at the same time saw know reason why the team cannot improve at this year’s event.
She added, “We first need to be realistic about where we are as a team and then our chances in the group, because having to face Australia and New Zealand will not be an easy task in the group phase, while we expect Barbados being our Caribbean rivals to be a very strong challenge as well.
Prior to the World Championships, the “Calypso Netballers”, coached by Wesley “Pepe” Gomes will travel to England for a three-match series against that country from May 4 to 10th after which they will travel to Belfast to compete as the Netball Europe Open Championship from May 14—17 in Northern Ireland against the host, Scotland, Wales, England and fellow guest team South Africa.
Looking ahead to the two tours which will serve as the local women main World Cup preparations, Dr Butcher said it will be a very important for the team to gauge where they are in terms of readiness for August as we have taken the decision not to go to Jamaica for the final World Cup warm-up because we feel that the matches in Europe will be of much more use to us as compared to only facing Jamaica and Barbados.
Pool B of the 2015 Championship features world third and fourth ranked teams, England and Jamaica as well as Scotland and Samoa, while Malawi, South Africa, Singapore and Sri Lanka comprise Pool C, and the quartet of Fiji, Wales, Uganda and Zambia make up Pool D with the matches carded for the 21,000 seat Allphones Arena (formerly known as the Sydney SuperDome and Acer Arena), Sydney Olympic Park.
In terms of an overall development plan for the sport locally, the local netball boss said very soon her association together with the Ministry of Sport and Sport Company of T&T (Sportt) will be jumping off their youth programmes.
“Our objective is to develop high calibre players and we will be starting our programme for 5-12 years across eight communities shortly.
“We have already gotten the support of the Ministry of Sport and Sportt with regards to covering the salaries for our coaches and officials for the programme and this will be followed by similar scouting and training programmes in the national talent identification programme for players in the Under-16 and Under-19 age-groups across the country.
Butcher also said that former national players Janelle Barker and Lystra Solomon-Simpson are currently preparing the national Under-16 team for the upcoming Caribbean Netball Association Jean Pierre Championship (Under-16) and the team is looking forward to doing much better than it did last year.
“We have taken a decision to make use of the former national players as a means of succession and since last September coach Barker and her assistant Solomon-Simpson have been preparing the team to the best of their ability.
“There is also the World Youth (Under-21) Championship to come in the next couple years and on completion of the World Championship in Australia, senior team duo, Rhonda John-Davis and Kemba Duncan will be dedicating much more of their time towards preparing that team as well, “ ended Dr Butcher.