Following on her sixth place finish in the women’s 100 metres final here on Saturday night, a positive Michelle Lee Ahye is all set to make her presence felt in the 200 metres which starts today.
Lee Ahye, Semoy Hacket (who was fifth in her 100 metres semi final) and Reyare Thomas will be in action from 8.30 pm (TT time) tonight.
Wearing a broad smile, Lee Ahye reflected on her performance and said she was eager to hit the track again for her next event.
“I am just going out there and run. I am actually very excited. I am going out there and see what I can do.”
Lee Ahye clocked 10.92, running from Lane 8 in the 100 metres final. The race was won by Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson (10.71) from the USA’s Torie Bowie with defending champion Shelly Ann Fraser Pyrce in third. “I am happy I gave it my best.
I brought my “A” game and it was not good enough to medal. But I will continue to try. I was not so nervous as in the past because I have been racing these ladies in the Diamond meet,” she said.
Lee Ahye is looking forward to the future. “I have to focus on staying injury free, just keep pushing and doing all that is needed, by ensuring that I focus on myself and keep on fighting, I am very positive for the future.”
She noted the mood in the T&T camp was still very upbeat.
“Everybody is going well. There is real teamwork in this group and we are just having fun,” she added.
Also in action today will be former 400 metres hurdles World Champion, Jehue Gordon, from 9.30 am (TT).
For Gordon, it has been a particularly tough season where a prolonged injury affected him in both his preparation and in his events. He was second in the national trials and has a tremendous amount of belief in himself.
Also from 10.30 am (TT) , women 400 metres hurdlers, Janeil Bellille and Sparkle Mcknight, go into action.
From 7.30 pm (TT), 110 metres hurdler Mikel Thomas will start his campaign.
Track and field manager, George Commissiong noted that Thomas was one of the more focussed athletes. “He was ready to run since the camp. For him this is all about getting the business done. His attitude is to be ready and to ensure he is in the right place. Overall all the hurdlers are prepared for tomorrow and what it means to represent your country.”
The Latest in Rio
Neymar and team arrives in village
7.10 pm
Brazil’s men’s football team arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the first time and its first stop was the athletes’ village. Neymar and his teammates met with several other athletes yesterday in the nearly two hours that they stayed at the village.
Seeking its first gold medal in football, Brazil plays Honduras on Wednesday at the Maracana Stadium in the semifinals. The team is staying at its training camp in Teresopolis, a city just outside Rio.
Brazil previously played in Brasilia, Salvador and Sao Paulo. Football is the only competition that is played outside of the Olympic host city.
5.15 pm
Did you send American boxer Nico Hernandez a congratulatory text for winning an Olympics bronze medal?
He might not have read the message.
Hernandez, the first American to win a boxing medal since 2008, seemed to have some trouble with his mobile device on the way to the medal stand.
He tweeted to T-Mobile, “lost my phone in Rio before receiving my Medal, can you help me find it?”
T-Mobile tweeted back that it would if Hernandez sent the company a direct message, it would “do all we can to help!”
4.30 pm
Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock have won the Olympic tennis title in mixed doubles, denying Venus Williams a record fifth gold medal.
Mattek-Sands and Sock beat Williams and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (3), 6-1, 10-7 tiebreak. It’s the second medal of the Rio Games for Sock, who won bronze in men’s doubles with Steve Johnson.
With the silver, Williams still tied the mark for most career tennis medals.
Mattek-Sands and Sock trailed 6-3 in the deciding super tiebreak then won six straight points. Mattek-Sands thought they had won on their first match point, throwing her racket in celebration, but Sock’s return landed just long. They closed it out on the next point.
4.15 pm
Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche says he developed a serious case of bacterial pneumonia while in Brazil for the Olympic road race and will miss the Spanish Vuelta.
Roche suggested on Twitter he may have gotten sick from a “bad aircon in Rio,” though he did not say how he knew his illness was caused by air conditioning. He also did not specify whether it was from a unit in the Olympic village, where he stayed with the rest of the Irish team.
“Riding the Vuelta was a big target for me this year and I was looking forward to being part of the team,” Roche said.
3.50 pm
Looking for an Olympic venue? The IOC has acknowledged that the Rio Olympics are missing part of the so-called “look” that characterises the games.
Organising committee officials admitted just days before the games opened that only 15 percent of the signage had been installed at Olympic venues. Signs give the Olympics their unique branding and help fans get around.
There were many other things that were supposed to be installed. Ukrainian suppliers failed to deliver at the last minute, forcing organizers to improvise.
Signage was absent along part of Sunday’s women’s marathon route, relying on famous backdrops like Sugar Loaf Mountain to remind television viewers that the race was being run in Rio de Janeiro.
3 pm
At an age when many people are thinking about retirement, John Whitaker is thinking about another Olympic medal.
He was part of the British show jumping team that won a silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games with younger brother Michael. Both are now competing in Rio de Janeiro.
John Whitaker is 61 and was the last member of the British team to ride yesterday. He knew he needed a clear round after Michael and compatriots Nick Skelton and Ben Maher each had a fence down.
And that’s precisely what he did on Ornellaia.
“Everything went to plan. She felt fresh, she was listening, she was jumping. Nice to get the first day behind us especially with a bit of confidence for the rest of the week,” John said.