Richards, Bertrand top NAAATT awards

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad:

Sprinters Jereem Richards and Leah Bertrand were crowned the Senior Male and Female Athletes of 2024, respectively, when the National Administration of Athletic Associations (NAAATT) hosted its annual awards ceremony at the Radisson Hotel, Port of Spain, on Saturday night.

It was Richards' and Bertrand's second major awards after they were also named Senior Sportsman and Sportswoman by the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) during its awards last month.

Richards, 30, took home the award for his impressive performance at last year's Paris Olympics where he clocked 43.78 seconds in the men's 400m final, missing out on bronze by four-hundredths of a second and setting a new national record in the process.

The 22-year-old Bertrand, a student of Ohio State University, ran a wind-assisted 11.05 in the 100 metres to finish seventh at the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division 1 Championship final in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

She also made her Olympic debut in Paris, where she reached the semifinals in the women's 100 metres.

Tafari Waldron, the 2024 Under-20 boys' 5000m champion and national record-holder in the event (14:57.95), and Jenae De Gannes, the Under-20 girls' CARIFTA long jump champion as well as Austin Sealy Award winner, were bestowed with the Junior Male and Junior Female Athlete of the Year awards, respectively.

- CMC