Trinidad and Tobago will have the opportunity to see national hero Keshorn Walcott in action, in his first meet since shocking the world with Olympic gold in London, England, last August.
Walcott heads the cast for the TnT Elite Twilight Games, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, next Friday, May 3.
Back home from a training stint in Cuba, Walcott will square off against Grenadian Kurt Felix in the men’s javelin.
The meet is being staged by TnT Elite Sports, the management group that handles the affairs of Walcott, sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye, hurdler Mikel Thomas and jumper Kyron Blaise.
Sean Roach, founder and CEO of TnT Elite Sports, said the Twilight Games is the perfect platform for Walcott to launch his 2013 campaign.
“Keshorn has not had a throw since the Olympics, and there’s no javelin event in this part of the world in the Diamond League. I wanted his first throw in Trinidad, so people will get to see their gold medallist before he goes on the world stage. Also, we want to introduce the rest of the TnT Elites athletes.”
Thomas will be on show in the Twilight Games men’s 110 metres hurdles. He will do battle with Americans Jarret Eaton and Christopher Thomas, as well as South Africa’s Lehann Fourie, the 2012 African sprint hurdles champion.
Fourie, who boasts a personal best of 13.24 seconds, was a finalist at the 2012 Olympic Games, finishing seventh in the championship race.
Thomas, though, has been in fine form in 2013, and would fancy his chances of striking gold at the Twilight Games. Last weekend, the Trinidad and Tobago hurdler clocked a personal best 13.39 seconds at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, in Florida, USA.
Thomas is fifth on the 2013 world outdoor performance list.
Blaise will compete in the men’s long jump at the Twilight Games, while Ahye is listed for the women’s 100m dash.
Ayhe, who clocked 11.07 seconds at the President’s Classic earlier this month, will go head-to-head with American sprinter Muna Lee.
Lee has a personal best of 10.89 seconds, and was part of the United States team that earned women’s 4x100m gold at the 2005 World Championships, in Helsinki, Finland. She is also a three-time Olympic finalist.
Also making the trip to T&T for the Twilight Games will be American Marcus Boyd and Jamaican Stacey-Ann Smith. Boyd will compete in the men’s 400m, while Smith faces the starter in the women’s one-lap event.
Joining Walcott, Thomas, Blaise and Ahye on the local cast will be 2003 World Championship men’s 100m silver medallist Darrel Brown, 2013 Carifta Games boys’ under-20 400m champion Machel Cedenio, Cleopatra Borel, Quincy Wilson, Hezekiel Romeo, Moriba Morain and Jereem Richards.
Next Friday’s TnT Elite Twilight Games will start at 4.30 p.m.. The programme will also feature entertainment by Kees Dieffenthaller, Blaxx, Olatunji and Cassi.
Admission to the covered stands at the Hasely Crawford Stadium is $25 for adults and free for children under 12. Admission to the uncovered stands is free.