Cyclist Nicholas Paul and track and field athlete Michelle Lee Ahye walked away with the top male and female honours at the Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Committee 27^th Annual Awards Ceremony held on Wednesday evening.

In the event, which was broadcast over video-conferencing platform Zoom, Paul and Ahye were named TTOC’s senior Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year respectively for 2021.

TTOC President Brian Lewis addressed the virtual audience before the distribution of awards.

“In 2021, our athletes showed that they faced their fears. They went to Tokyo and gave their best. They did not make excuses and of course, they showed emotional, physical, and mental stamina by facing their disappointments, their failures, their mistakes, and the criticism of those who weren’t in the arena; who didn’t have to overcome economic issues, lack of training issues, doubt issues, death in their families and close circles,” said Lewis.

“As we look forward to 2022, we are encouraged by the example and the discipline and resolve shown by team TTO at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Junior Pan Am Games,” he added.

It was Ahye’s fourth time holding the title after winning from 2016-2018 while Paul received the award for the second time, his first coming back in 2019.

Paul, the current world-record holder in the Men’s flying 200m, earned the top male award based on his silver medal performance in the Men’s one-kilometre time-trial at the UCI Tissot World Track Cycling Championship in Roubaix, France, back in October.

He was also sixth in the Men’s Sprint at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Ahye was deemed the top female based on her ninth-place finish in the Women’s 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she narrowly missed out on the final.

Swimmer Nikoli Blackman, a member of T&T’s teams at both the Pan Am Junior Games and Swimming World Championships (SC) this year, was named Junior Sportsman of the Year for the second consecutive year, and track and field athlete Rae-Anne Serville, now representing USC, was Junior Sportswoman of the Year.

Olympic long jump finalist and 2021 NCAA Heptathlon Champion at Texas A&M, Tyra Gittens, was named the Sports Personality of the Year and reacted to it on her Instagram page on Wednesday.

“Blessed to receive the Sports Personality award during the TTOC 27^th Annual Award Ceremony this evening. I can’t wait to represent TTO again next year,” she said.

West Indies senior women’s vice-captain Anissa Mohammed won the Future is Female award.

Jamaican swimming legend Alia Atkinson has decided to call it a career after her fourth-place finish in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke at the FINA World Short-course Championships in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Atkinson, 33, announced her retirement from the sport in a post on Instagram after completing her races at the championships.

“Not the meet I hoped for but I am happy to say I finished every ounce of swimming talent God gave me, the bottle empty. Many times, I wanted to quit or give up, but I saw it through to the end,” Atkinson said.

The three-time Jamaica Sportswoman of the Year also offered her fans words of wisdom in her farewell message.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of fun and not so fun moments but always remember to make fun memories…they don’t make themselves, take nothing for granted and enjoy each step both the good and the challenging, let go of the negatives of the day, your best changes daily so do the best you can on that day!” Atkinson added.

Atkinson leaves behind a remarkable legacy in the sport, retiring as the current world-record holder (SC) in both the 50m and 100m with times of 28.56 and 1:02.36, respectively.

“Fun fact: I get to retire with my two World Records intact. That’s something I never thought would happen and this last race reminded me just how remarkable my career was,” she said.

Making her competitive debut for Jamaica at the 2004 Athens Olympics as a 15-year-old, Atkinson went on to amass more than 30 medals in international competition.

She won two medals at the Long-course Swimming Championships, 10 at the Short-course Swimming Championships including four gold, three at the Commonwealth Games, two at the Pan Am Games and 14 at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games including 11 gold.

She offered a last message of gratitude to those who have supported her throughout the years.

“Many thanks to all that have supported me, cheered for me and followed me these past decades. It meant a lot,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson retires as one of Jamaica and the Caribbean's most successful athletes in the history of the sport whose contributions will be talked about for generations.

Trinidad &Tobago’s Dylan Carter won the Caribbean’s first medal at the 2021 FINA Short-course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Carter swam a national record 21.98 to win silver in the Men’s 50m butterfly behind Brazil’s Nicholas Santos, who recorded 21.93 for gold.

Italy’s Matteo Revolta was third in 22.02.

This is Carter’s second Short-course World Championships medal after winning bronze in the 50m butterfly at the 2018 championships in Hangzhou.

Carter, a 2020 Olympian, dedicated his silver medal performance to his parents.

“This one is for my parents who have been my endless support through thick and thin,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bahamian Joanna Evans contested her second final at the meet, placing seventh in the 400m Freestyle in a national record 4:01.09 seconds, three days after her eighth-place finish in the 200m Freestyle final.

Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson narrowly missed out on a medal in the Women’s 100m breaststroke at the FINA World Short-course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson advanced to the final of the Women’s 100m Breaststroke at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Atkinson was the third fastest qualifier into the semi-finals after Atkinson swimming 1:04.88 in Heat 6 to advance.

She then lined up in semi-final 2 where she swam 1:04.26 to finish second and advance as the fourth fastest qualifier to the final.

The final is scheduled for Monday.

Atkinson is seeking to add to her four previous medals at World Short Course Championships, including three gold and one silver.

Bahamian Joanna Evans and Mexican Jose Martinez were both finalists at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Evans, who represented the Bahamas at the Olympics in 2016 and 2021, was seventh in the Women’s 200m Freestyle in 1:54.93 won by Hong Kong’s Siobhan Bernadette Haughey in a new world record 1:50.31.

Canada’s Rebecca Smith was second in 1:52.24 and the USA’s Paige Madden was third in 1:53.01.

Martinez, 24, placed seventh.

The former Texas A&M competitor represented Mexico at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships and the 2020 Olympics.

He swam 1:52.00 to finish seventh in the Men’s 200m butterfly won by Alberto Razetti of Italy in 1:49.06.

Noe Panti of Switzerland was second in 1:49.81 and Chad Le Clos, South Africa’s 2012 Olympic champion, was third in 1:49.84.

Thursday was the opening day of the championships that concludes on December 21.

The Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad & Tobago and St. Lucia Aquatics Federation have both announced their respective teams for the FINA World Short-Course Swimming Championships to be held in Abu Dhabi from December 16-21.

Trinidad &Tobago will be represented Cherelle Thompson in the Women’s 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly; Dylan Carter in the Men’s 50m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke, 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle while Nikoli Blackman will compete in the Men’s 400m Freestyle and 1500m Freestyle.

St. Lucia will have Jayhan Odlum-Smith in the Men’s 50m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle, Mikaili Charlemagne in the Women’s 50m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle, Naima Hazell in the Women’s 50 Breaststroke and 50m Backstroke and Terrel Monplaisir in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle.

Cuba's Maikel Gonzalez won gold and Trinidad and Tobago's Kelsey Daniel, silver in the long jump at the Junior Pan Am Games in Cali, Colombia on Wednesday.

Gonzalez soared out to 7.97 metres to take top spot over the Trinidadian who leapt 7.90 metres for the runner-up spot.

Cuba won a second gold when Daily Gaspar ran 2:08.62 to win the Women’s 800m. In the field, Cuba's Juan Gomez took bronze in the shot put with 17.85 metres.

On Tuesday, Amya Clarke of St. Kitts and Nevis won silver in the Women’s 100m in 11.58 seconds.

Cuba secured a 1-2 finish in the Women’s discus with Silinda Zenea winning gold with a throw of 59.13 metres and Melany Morejan winning silver in 54.31m.

Meanwhile, Paola Sola of Puerto Rico struck gold in the women’s long jump with a distance of 6.33 metres.

Chantoba Bright of Guyana was fifth with 6.20 metres while Cuba’s Yanisley Cremadelly was eighth with 6.01 metres.

Tyriq Hosford of Trinidad & Tobago won a bronze medal in the Men’s javelin with a distance of 71.33 metres.

Carlos Brown Jr of The Bahamas was fifth in the Men’s 100m in 10.47 seconds.

Anson Moses of Trinidad & Tobago finished seventh in the Men’s Decathlon with 454 points.

In swimming action on Tuesday, Patrick Groters of Aruba won gold in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley in a time of 2:02.09, his second gold medal of the Games.

Graham Chatoor of Trinidad & Tobago was sixth in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle in 16:20.48 while his teammate Nikolai Blackman was 13^th in 17:02.08.

The Bahamas finished fifth in the Men’s 4x100m relay medley in 2:49.92 while Trinidad and Tobago finished eighth in 4:02.66.

Patrick Groters of Aruba won gold in the Men’s 200m backstroke at the Junior Pan Am Games in Colombia on Saturday in a championship record 2:01.78.

Groters was eighth in the A final at the 2019 Pan Am Senior Games in Lima, Peru with a time of 2:03.65.

Mexico’s Diego Salgado took silver with a personal best 2:02.29 and Erick Guzman took home Guatemala’s first Junior Pan Am Games backstroke medal with 2:03.00 for third, a new national record.

At the 2019 Senior Games, Guzman finished third in the B final in 2:04.88.

Meanwhile, several Caribbean athletes advanced as swimming action continued earlier today.

In the Men’s 50m freestyle, Jordan Crooks from The Cayman Islands, Lamar Taylor from The Bahamas and Trinidad’s Nikolai Blackman and Zarek Wilson all advanced to the B final.

In the Women’s 50m freestyle, St. Lucians Mikali Charlemagne and Naima Hazell both advanced to the A final.

Kyra Rabess from The Cayman Islands, Aleka Persaud from Guyana, Gabrialle Hysin from Greneda and Myeisha Sharrieff from Bermuda all advanced to the B final.

Rising Jamaican swimming star Emily McDonald says she is having a grand time in her first few months in college at Columbia University, which has been bolstered by the fact that a week ago, she won her very first race at the NCAA Division 1 level.

At the Lions Home opener at the University of Pennsylvania, McDonald, who turned 18 in July, won the 50-yard freestyle in 23.77, which at the time was the fourth-fastest in the Ivy League conference. She also picked up a third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle in 52.45.

She had more success in the 200-yard freestyle relay, leading her team with a 23.88 split to give them the edge in a close battle with Penn - 1:34.79 to 1:34.84. She also swam a 23.35 split as her team finished second in the 200-yard medley relay that was won by the University of Pennsylvania in 1:44.35. Columbia was a .10 behind in 1:44.45.

Reflecting on her debut outing for Columbia, the recent Bolles graduate, revealed that she had a great time competing.

“It was a really great experience. I love my new team, I love their vibes, I love their spirit,” she told Sportsmax.TV while heaping praise on her teammates and coaches for their support in helping her get her collegiate career off to a great start.

“Winning the 50-free in my first collegiate meet was really special. It was not just hard work, but the spirit of my team and coaches helped me in that race. They are always so supportive no matter what and I cannot wait to see how the rest of the season plays out!”

McDonald has had a solid career swimming in high school, first at Campion College and then at Bolles where she capped off her high school years with a few podium finishes in the 200-yard freestyle and medley relays.

She has also represented Jamaica at the 2018 CAC Games in Colombia and at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

The Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) is brimming with pride over the advances made in the discipline of artistic swimming.

Swimmer Caeleb Dressel led the way with five golds as the United States finished top of the medal table at the Olympic Games for a third successive time.

Team USA's haul of 113 medals at the Tokyo Games – comprising 39 gold, 41 silver and 33 bronze – was 25 more than second-placed China, while Japan finished third.

The 58 medals won by the hosts set a record for the most they have ever won at a single Olympics, including 27 golds – 11 more than their previous record from 1964 and 2004.

Italy (40 medals), the Netherlands (36), Brazil (21), New Zealand (20), Turkey (13) and Chinese Taipei (12) also enjoyed their best ever Games showings.

In all, 93 different competing nations claimed a medal in Tokyo, which is more than any other edition of the global showpiece, surpassing the previous record of 87 set in 2008.

That includes first ever Olympic medals for Turkmenistan, San Marino and Burkina Faso in weightlifting, shooting and athletics events respectively.

Indeed, with a population of around 34,000 people, San Marino are now the smallest nation to win an Olympic medal.

MCKEON IN SEVENTH HEAVEN

Twenty of Australia's 46 medals came in the pool, with swimmer Emma McKeon responsible for seven of those – at least two more medals than any other athlete in Tokyo.

In doing so, the 27-year-old became the second female athlete to claim seven or more medals at a single Olympics after Maria Gorokhovskaya in 1952.

Dressel swept up five golds in the men's swimming events, meanwhile, to become the 10th athlete to reach that tally at a single Games.

Away from the Aquatics Centre, it was an Olympics to remember for Elaine Thompson-Herah as the Jamaican became the first woman to win both the 100 metre and 200m sprint at two Games.

Further success came for Thompson-Herah in the 4x100m relay, making her only the second woman to win five athletics golds after Allyson Felix (seven).

The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan also wrote his name in the record books by becoming the first athlete to win a medal in the 1500m (bronze), 5000m (gold) and 10,000m (gold) at the same Games.

Indeed, Hassan is the first track and field athlete to claim a medal in three individual disciplines since Carl Lewis and Heike Drechsler in 1988.

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya became the youngest Olympic gold medal winner since 1960 – and third-youngest of all time – with victory in the women's street event at the age of 13 years and 330 days.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, 62-year-old Andrew Hoy of Australia became the oldest medallist at the Olympics since 1968 with a silver and bronze in the equestrian competitions.

Judokas Hifumi Abe and Uta Abe kept it in the family by becoming the first brother and sister combo to claim gold medals at the same Olympics when winning the men's -66 kilograms and women's -52kg events respectively.

July 28 proved to be a day to remember in more ways than one for Olga Frolkina and Evgeniia Frolkina, meanwhile, as the twin sisters took silver in the 3x3 basketball on their 24th birthday.

Favourite Grant Holloway said nerves got the better of him after finishing second to Jamaica's Hansle Parchment in the men's 110 metres hurdles Olympic final.

The American led at the halfway mark but faded over the final 20 metres as he was beaten by his 31-year-old rival.

Parchment triumphed with a season-best time of 13.04 seconds, ahead of Holloway in 13.09, lucky to scrape ahead of Jamaican Ronald Levy who took bronze with 13.10.

Holloway and Parchment had run in the same heat and semi-final prior to the final, with the American winning both, before falling short in the all-important race.

"I think the anxiousness and the nerves got the better of me towards the end and I got sloppy with my form," Holloway said. "He got me this time but I'll make sure I get him in the next."

He added: "Hats off to Hansle for an amazing race. I was watching him when I was in high school. He's a hell of a competitor. He has an amazing race plan, he executed to the best of his ability."

Parchment admitted he learned from losing to Holloway in the previous two runs.

"I made some changes to my start, because I knew if I was going to catch up, I had to be closer in the first half," Parchment said. "I think I ran through pretty well. I maintained composure. It was a great race."

Portugal's Pedro Pichardo earned gold medal glory with a national record 17.98m in the men's triple jump.

Pichardo's triumphant effort came with his third attempt, while China's Zhu Yaming claimed silver with a personal best of 17.57m. Burkina Faso's Hugues Fabrice Zango took the bronze with 17.47m.

USA's defending champion Ryan Crouser threw an Olympic record 23.30m to win the men's shot put gold.

Crouser bettered the Olympic mark he set five years ago in Rio de Janeiro to win from countryman Joe Kovacs (22.65m), while New Zealand's Tomas Walsh (22.47m) claimed bronze.

EARLY SCARE AS USA REACH FINAL

The United States trailed by 15 points in the second quarter against Australia but rallied to qualify for the men's basketball gold medal match.

USA won 97-78 over Australia, who have never won an Olympic medal in men's basketball having finished fourth four times.

The Boomers had raced to a commanding position early on as Team USA struggled from beyond the arc.

Yet the reigning Olympic champions reduced the margin to three points by half-time and went up several gears with a 32-10 third quarter.

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant top-scored again with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Devin Booker had 20 points.

USA will face either France or Slovenia in the final as they chase a fourth straight gold medal.

CARRINGTON MAKES NEW ZEALAND HISTORY

New Zealand's Lisa Carrington added a third Tokyo 2020 gold medal to her haul, landing the title in the women's kayak single 500m final.

Carrington claimed her fifth-ever Olympic gold with a strong victory in 1:51.216, from Hungary's Tamara Csipes and Denmark's Emma Jorgensen.

She becomes the first athlete from New Zealand to win five Olympic gold medals, surpassing the four of Ian Ferguson, also in canoe sprint between 1984 and 1988.

Carrington is the fourth woman at Tokyo 2020 to win three gold medals, after Australian swimmers Emma McKeon (four) and Kaylee McKeown (three) and South Korean archer An San (three).

GERMAN ADDS GOLD IN OPEN WATER

After winning bronze in the 1,500m in the pool, Germany's Florian Wellbrock won the men's marathon swimming in open water.

Wellbrock won in one hour, 48 minutes and 33.7 seconds across 10 kilometres, finishing 25.3 seconds ahead of Hungary's Kristof Rasovszky for silver, with Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri earning bronze.

The size of the German's victory was the biggest margin in Olympic marathon swimming history.

“It’s a little bit unreal," Wellbrock said. "The first seven (kilometres) of this race felt really easy."

AUSSIE SKATEBOARDING WINNER

Keegan Palmer won Australia's first-ever skateboarding gold medal with two amazing runs in the men's park final.

The 18-year-old's first run scored 94.04 before a throwaway second round. Palmer backed it up on his final run with a staggering top score of 95.83.

Brazilian Pedro Barros was next best with 86.14 for silver, while Cory Juneau claimed bronze with 84.13.

The event was the final skateboarding medal opportunity from the sport in its debut Olympics.

Tokyo Olympic organisers have apologised after Ukraine's artistic swimming medallists were misidentified as being Russian by a venue announcer.

The Ukraine pair of Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk won bronze in their duet free routine event on Wednesday, finishing behind pairs from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and China.

However, Fiedina and Savchuk were named as ROC competitors by a French-language announcer, causing embarrassment for Tokyo 2020 chiefs.

It was a particularly unfortunate mistake given the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Tokyo 2020 organising committee spokesperson Masa Takaya said: "I would like to apologise to the team Ukraine.

"During the victory ceremony yesterday for the artistic swimming duet, there was mistakenly announced a different country and region's name for the team Ukraine who claimed the bronze medal.

"It was purely an operational mistake, so we would like to apologise for that."

Takaya did not immediately clarify that the mistake was to confuse the Ukrainians as belonging to the Russian team.

Asked for more detail, Takaya said: "French, English and Japanese, these three languages are used. The French language [should] have said team Ukraine; however, it said the ROC instead.

"Of course, people noticed that and the person in charge of the announcement apologised and there was an announcement of apology at the same time, so this was a purely operational mistake."

Tokyo Olympic organisers have apologised after Ukraine's artistic swimming medallists were misidentified as being Russian by a venue announcer.

The Ukraine pair of Marta Fiedina and Anastasiya Savchuk won bronze in their duet free routine event on Wednesday, finishing behind pairs from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and China.

However, Fiedina and Savchuk were named as ROC competitors by a French-language announcer, causing embarrassment for Tokyo 2020 chiefs.

It was a particularly unfortunate mistake given the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Tokyo 2020 organising committee spokesperson Masa Takaya said: "I would like to apologise to the team Ukraine.

"During the victory ceremony yesterday for the artistic swimming duet, there was mistakenly announced a different country and region's name for the team Ukraine who claimed the bronze medal.

"It was purely an operational mistake, so we would like to apologise for that."

Takaya did not immediately clarify that the mistake was to confuse the Ukrainians as belonging to the Russian team.

Asked for more detail, Takaya said: "French, English and Japanese, these three languages are used. The French language [should] have said team Ukraine; however, it said the ROC instead.

"Of course, people noticed that and the person in charge of the announcement apologised and there was an announcement of apology at the same time, so this was a purely operational mistake."