Road Cycling

Cyclists Paul and Campbell earn top prizes at TTOC awards – Insidethegames.biz



Nicholas Paul earned the top men's prize at the TTOC awards ©Getty Images

Cyclists Nicholas Paul and Teniel Campbell scooped the top prizes at the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) awards for 2019.

Paul was named Sportsman of the Year, with Campbell receiving the Sportswoman of the Year prize at a ceremony in Port of Spain.

The 21-year-old Paul won gold in the individual and team sprint events at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.

Paul has lost his team sprint title, however, after team mate Njisane Phillip was disqualified for failing a drugs test, a decision which the TTOC is appealing.

He beat Phillip in an all Trinidad and Tobago individual sprint final and his compatriot has since been stripped of his silver medal by Panam Sports.

Paul also broke the flying 200 metres time trial world record at the Pan Amer­i­can Track Cy­cling Cham­pi­on­ships in Cochabam­ba in Bolivia.

He clocked a time of 9.100sec, beating the previous mark, held by France’s Fran­cois Per­vis, by 0.247 seconds.

Paul was also named the winner of the People’s Choice award at the TTOC ceremony.

Campbell’s successful year included becoming the first women’s cyclist from Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

The 21-year-old claimed two silver medals at the Lima Pan American Games and was third in the road race at the Pan American Road Cycling Championships.

Campbell won the under-23 individual time trial at the Championships in Pachuca.