Stona makes more history

OLYMPIC MEN’S discus champion Roje Stona and Olympic women’s triple jump silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts are the two Jamaicans to be nominated for the inaugural Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) Sports Awards set for October 19 in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The award ceremony takes aim at highlighting several of the best athletes, teams and leaders who have contributed to the region’s sporting excellence.

Godfrey Been, president of the Turks and Caicos Islands Commonwealth Games Association, said it is a privilege for the nation to host the first edition of the CANOC Sports Awards.

He views the ceremony as more than just a way to highlight the best sporting personalities in the region, but to also strengthen the ties which exist between each nation in the Caribbean.

“It is an honour for the Turks and Caicos Islands to host the inaugural CANOC Sports Awards. This event not only celebrates the remarkable achievements of our region’s athletes and sports leaders, but also strengthens the bond of unity that sports fosters across the Caribbean,” he remarked.

“We are proud to play a pivotal role in recognising the excellence that transcends our sporting communities and showcases the Caribbean on the global sporting stage.”

In the men’s Caribbean Sports Personality of the Year, Stona headlines a star-studded list of athletes.

He is nominated alongside five-time Olympic gold-medallist wrestler Mijain Lopez Nunez of Cuba, British Virgin Islands (BVI) hurdler Kyron McMaster, Grenada’s decathlon athlete Lindon Victor, Trinidadian sprinter Jereem Richards, and Puerto Rican wrestler Sebastian Rivera.

In the women’s category, Ricketts joins a list of athletes which includes 100m Olympic gold medallist Julien Alfred, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, and Shafiuq Maloney of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Alfred is a double nominee as she will also contest the Caribbean Breakthrough Award, a category highlighting athletes who have earned their first medal at a continental or international competition.

She is nominated alongside Olympic triple jump champion Thea LaFond of Dominica, BVI’s starlet Adaejah Hodge, and the the Dominican Republic boxing pair of Junior Alcantara Reyes and Cristian Javier Pinales.

Other categories at the inaugural event will include the Caribbean Team of the Year, Caribbean Sports Media Award, Caribbean Distinguished Service Award and the Caribbean National Olympic Committee of the Year.

There will also be a Caribbean Lifetime Achievement Quadrennial Award which will be presented to an individual who has rendered exceptional service at the national, regional, or international level.