National cyclist Njisane Phillip maintained his consistency yesterday at the Elite Pan American Cycling Championships in Chile, but will be hoping for a medal for the first time today in the men’s sprint. Phillip will line up in the semifinals of the sprint today from 4 pm T&T time against Canadian Hugo Barrette. Barrette defeated Phillip in the final of the sprint at the Pan Am Games in July.
Kwesi Browne and Quincy Alexander also represented T&T in the sprint, but unfortunately did not advance past the first round. Earlier in the qualifying round, Phillip qualified with the second fastest time after clocking 9.850 seconds. Browne was 15th fastest in 10.209 seconds, while Alexander was 18th with a time of 10.280 seconds.
On Thursday, Phillip missed out on a medal for the second time after finishing fourth in the men’s keirin final. Finishing ahead of Phillip in the final were Colombian Fabian Puerta (gold), Venezuelan Hersony Canelon (silver) and Brazilian Kacio Da Silva (bronze). The T&T cyclist advanced to the final after finishing third in his semi-final heat.
It was Phillip’s second fourth-place finish at the Championships. On Wednesday in the men’s team sprint, Phillip along with Jude Codrington and Kwesi Browne ended fourth overall after Brazil edged T&T in the bronze medal ride.
On Friday, Teniel Campbell finished seventh overall when she broke the national record in the women’s 3km individual pursuit with a time of three minutes, 56.863 seconds (3:56.863). Campbell became the first T&T woman to dip below the four-minute mark, bettering the time set last year by Christiane Farah of 4:01.164.
In the women’s flying 200m, Jodi Goodridge and Aziza Browne both set personal bests of 12.200 and 12.340 seconds respectively, but finished 13th and 14th in the qualifying round. Only the top 12 cyclists advanced to the next round. Endurance riders Jovian Gomez and Gavyn Nero tied for 12th in the men’s point race. Justin Roberts displayed a creditable performance for T&T in the 1km time trial, recording a personal best at sea level in 1:02.786 for a fifth place finish.
Varun Maharajh is currently tied for sixth place after three races in the six-event men’s omnium. Maharajh got off to a slow start, finishing eighth in the scratch race and seventh in the 4km individual pursuit with a time of 4:35.463. He then showed top form to capture the elimination event and move to 94 points. It is a close battle for podium spots, as only six points seperate second place and eighth place.