Port of Spain, Trinidad. The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) hosted a ‘One year to Rio 2016’ acknowledgement at Olympic House in unison with the rest of the world in marking the one-year countdown to Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 5th.
The TTOC used this landmark day to celebrate the road to Rio and commemorate the athletes that have achieved excellence at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
The proceedings opened with a short video presentation highlighting team TTO’s performance at the recently concluded 2015 Pan American Games. TTOC’s President, Brian Lewis, reinforced the vision of achieving the 10 or more gold medals by the year 2024. “Toronto 2015 and the performances of our athletes started to make some people believe that it (#10Golds24)
may have been possible; that it wasn’t far fetched and unrealistic,” he stated.
“Rio 2016 therefore, in the context of 10 or more Olympic gold medals by the year 2024 is going
to be very important because thereafter comes Tokyo 2020 and then 2024,” he continued.
Toronto 2015 Chef de Mission, Diane Henderson led the Trinidad and Tobago Pan American
Games contingent of 180 athletes and officials in fourteen different sporting disciplines. The
T&T contingent left Toronto with 8 medals, surpassing the medal haul of the Guadalajara
Games in 2011.
In celebration of the one-year mark to the Rio Olympics 2016, the TTOC presented Trinidad
and Tobago’s medalists from the 2015 Pan American Games with their medal bonuses. Of the
13 athletes were Keshorn Walcott, Dan-Neil Telesford and Emmanuel Callender.
The complete list of medal winners include: Cleopatra Borel, Keshorn Walcott, George Bovell
III, Njisane Phillip, Mikel Thomas (Individual medalist), Rondel Sorrillo, Emmanuel Callender,
Keston Bledman Dan-Neil Telesford (4 x 100m Relay team), Renny Quow, Jarrin Solomon,
Machel Cedenio and Emmanuel Mayers (4 x 400m Relay team).
With the conclusion of the Pan American Games, the TTOC moves forward with full force in
preparation for the Olympics in 2016. The games will take place from 5th – 21st August 2016 in
four regions throughout the city.
Thank you to other distinguished guests Olympic gold medalist Hasley Crawford, President of
the National Association of Athletics Administration Ephraim Serette and Senator Elton
Prescott SC for attending.
The TTOC would also like to thank our official partners Guardian Group Limited, National
Lotteries Control Board (NLCB), Toyota, Lisa Communications, ScotiaBank, Adidas, BPTT,
Columbus Communications for their continued support.