media_artricles :: 2015 |
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Borel, Walcott dominate NAAA 2014 awardsSean Nero :: Trinidad Guardian :: 05.01.2015Shot putter Cleopatra Borel remains the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) Senior Athlete of the Year – Female, having copped the award for the second consecutive year on Saturday. It was her third major award in 13 days. She was named the T&T Guardian newspapers top female athlete for 2014 on December 23. Six days later she received her fourth T&T Olympic Committee Sportswoman of the Year award. Olympic gold medal winner Keshorn Walcott is the new Senior Athlete of the Year – Male. IAAF World 400-metre hurdler Jehue Gordon took home the award in 2013. Walcott was also the TTOC top male athlete for 2014. Borel’s training partner Portious Warren, another shot putter, clinched the Junior Athlete of the Year – Female, while World Junior 400-metre champion Machel Cedenio was named the Junior Athlete of the Year – Male. The awards were presented at the NAAA’s ritzy annual awards ceremony held at the Radisson Hotel on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain this weekend. Borel, in the year under review, won gold for T&T in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mexico, in addition to silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. She maintained her winning ways at the World Challenge in Belgium. Walcott secured a silver medal for this country at the Commonwealth Games where he was able to register a new national record, too. At the Continental Cup, he also medalled, placing third. It was gold all the way for Cedenio. From the World Juniors, to the CAC Games and the CARIFTA Games the 400-metre specialist remained a beacon. Cedenio was the TTOC top junior male athlete for 2014. Warren did T&T proud at the CAC Games, too. She won gold. At the CARIFTA Games, she copped bronze. George Smith and Samantha Shukla were declared the Most Outstanding male and female cross country runners, while Curtis Cox and Tonya Nero were choice picks for the honours of Most Outstanding Road Runners. Interviewed, Borel told the T&T Guardian the results at the weekend awards had new meaning for the sport of shot put, citing that both she and Warren were winners. “I feel a lot of pride in the fact that Portious Warren won the Junior Female Athlete of the Year. To have two shut putters…I don’t think that has ever happened before. I feel tremendous pride. I am almost a lot happier about her award than my own, because it really means that much to me. We work under the same coach at the (Hasely Crawford) Stadium. We message each other on Facebook and of course we compete against each other. I can’t express the joy that I feel that two female shot putters took these awards. It’s really tremendous,” she said. Borel added, “It feels really good. We work really hard–not that other athletes don’t work hard—we really put out a tremendous effort, so it’s nice to be recognised. “It gives you that extra boast to keep going, knowing that your hard work is paying off. To all the awardees today, I say congratulations and we are really happy that the NAAA takes this time out to recognise us.” Responding to questions about erecting a new space at home to display her awards, Borel revealed that all her awards were still in boxes, securely stored. She explained that while she lived in the moment of receiving the accolades, she did not dwell on them, because her work was incomplete. At the end of her career, she said, all the tributes in her name would come out of storage to accurately represent the tremendous contribution she would have made to the world of sport. Borel described last Saturday as tremendous. She went to the gym and had a really tough morning workout. She made it to the awards ceremony safely, healthy and happy. The NAAA 2014 Honour Roll Senior Athlete of the Year–Female Senior Athlete of the Year–Male Junior Athlete of the Year –Female Junior Athlete of the Year –Male Champion Club 2014–Juvenile Champion Club 2014–Juniors Champion Club 2014 –Senior Outstanding Performances: Most Outstanding Road Runners Most Outstanding Cross Country Runner Girls Under 10 Boys Under 12 Girls Under 14 Boys Under 14 Girls Under 16 (Track) Girls Under 16 (Field) Boys Under 16 (Track) Boys Under 16 (Field) Girls Under 18 (Track) Girls Under 18 (Field) Boys Under 18 (Track) Boys Under 18 (Field) Girls Under 20 (Track) Girls Under 20 (Field) Boys Under 20 (Track) Boys Under 20 (Field) Women Open (Track) Women Open (Field) Men Open (Track) Men Open (Field) |
Enlarge Image Kelvin Nancoo, head coach/technical director Cougars Athletic Club accepts the Juvenile Champion Club Award 2014 for the fourth consecutive year from Laura Pierre, advisor to the Minister of Sport. Photo: SEAN NERO NAAA 2014 Awards Photos POS January 2015 |
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