Just read full article and spotted an error in paragraph 4.
Desiree Henry is a GB sprinter and not a Team TTO sprinter. Semoy Hackett is the athlete who anchored the TTO Women's 4x100m Relay team in Beijing in the final when we set our current national record of 42.03 rather than Desiree Henry so that 4th paragraph should read:
The T&T team at the Beijing World Championships – Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Reyare Thomas and Semoy Hackett clocked 42.03 to capture bronze.
Ato Boldon breaks his silence… TTO relay team did not practise together in Rio
24 Aug 2016 (TTWhistleBlower.com)If what Ato Boldon said on Wednesday is true, then there must be a serious enquiry into the Trinidad and Tobago camp at the just concluded Rio Olympics.
Speaking on CNC3 on Wednesday, Boldon broke his silence by revealing that the members of the Trinidad and Tobago’s women 4×100 metre relay team never practised together while in Brazil.
Boldon, a four-time Olympic medallist, said when he saw Trinidad and Tobago women team run 42 seconds at the World Championships in 2015 in Beijing, he told them he knew they needed to work harder on their times if they are to medal at the 2016 Olympics. As part of the coaching staff then, he told them not to become complacent as they needed to improve on their times.
The T&T team at the Beijing World Championships – Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Reyare Thomas, and Desiree Henry clocked 42.03 to capture bronze.
At the Rio Olympics, the team enjoyed its best-ever Olympic finish in a women’s event when Semoy Hackett, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Kelly-Ann Baptiste and 18-year-old Khalifa St Fort combined for the fifth spot in the women’s sprint relay final, the T&T quartet getting the baton round the track in 42.12 seconds. United States won in 41.01, from Jamaica (41.36) and Great Britain (41.77).
Boldon, who coaches St Fort, and is an NBC track announcer, said it was important for the T&T team to improve on the Beijing performance. Despite this, the entire team never practised together for the relay events while at the Olympic Village.
Boldon said a team needed to practice several things if the members are to bring home a medal. He cited the lane infringement of the men’s 4×400 metre relay team. He said the system had broken down and if Trinidad and Tobago have to improve going forward, there must be changes.
“I think we had some bright spots. I think we have, to be honest. I think a lot of the athletes went there and did not perform as they were expected to. There were athletes who could have performed better.
“I don’t think we expected too much. Four years ago in London, we did well, so people say with all these medals in London, maybe we can improve on that total. I was disappointed yes, but you must understand everybody cannot carry the torch forever.
“I was extremely disappointed when the 4×400 men did not make the final because that is not a position we should be in. The system we have in preparing the team, especially in relays, is flawed, if not non-existent. We still believe as a country, we could go and have a thing a month before and gel the team and that is how we compete against the world.
“I don’t want to hear any ole talk from any organisation. Until you can show me, how we going to change in how we prepare for 2020, then is only ole talk. This is not our worst performance. People have short memories. From 1976 when Hasely won to 1996, there was nothing.
“The women were hungry, a lot hungry. The men are starting to age too. The feeder system is failing us. Where are the young male athletes who were supposed to have made that team?
“There are people in power who feel they are doing a good job and this is the way it should be. No, that is not the way it should be. As long as you don’t admit you have a problem, then things will remain the same.
“There has to be a fundamental change in our club system, and how we prepare our team, especially our relay teams. Imagine in 2016, we went to the Olympics with that 4×100 women relay team, without us having a practice with everybody present, ” Boldon declared.
The former T&T sprinter said a number of countries have started to plan for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. He said the planning must start now, not wait until the Olympics are around the corner.
Another controversy erupted with the T&T team. Dr Ian Hypolite, the team’s Chef de Mission, was missing in action as he was an analyst with ESPN during the athletic segment of the Games.
Neither Hypolite, NAAA’s President Ephraim Serrette, or TTOC President, Brian Lewis, have responded to what Boldon had said.
