Jereem, Bertrand headline star-studded NAAATT Senior Championships

National sprint star Jereem “The Dream” Richards and rising speedster Leah Bertrand delivered standout performances at the 2025 NGC/National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAATT) Senior Track and Field Championships, reinforcing their status among Trinidad and Tobago’s elite athletes.

Richards, 31, secured his fifth national 200m title—and his eighth national crown overall—by powering home in 20.21 seconds at the meet, which is also sponsored by Republic Bank and was held on 2 and 3 August at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

The Abilene Wildcats sprinter executed a superb turn to overtake the field, winning comfortably ahead of Elijah Joseph (20.69) and teenager Daeshaun Cole (21.03).

Richards and Joseph both dipped under the NACAC qualifying standard of 20.69.

“It could have been a little better, but all things considered, 20.21 is about where I’ve been for most of the season. I’m not mad at it,” Richards said, during an interview with the NAAATT.

Richards, who finished fourth in the 400m final at the Paris Olympics, said he is elated to run at home and hopes to inspire a new generation of athletes.

The former World Athletics indoor 400m champion said he aims to motivate the younger generation to excel on the world stage:

“We do belong there, we can achieve, and we can be on top of the world. I just want to play my part to help motivate the younger generation.”

On the women’s side, Bertrand produced one of the most impressive performances at the Championships, electrifying the crowd in winning the women’s 100m final in 11.04 seconds.

The Simplex sprinter retained her 100m crown ahead of Shaniqua Bascombe (11.17) and Akilah Lewis (11.38).

Bertrand, 23, who has won the national 100m title three times in the last four years, also qualified for the NACAC Championships and the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Bertrand, Bascombe, and Lewis all dipped below the NACAC standard of 11.54s.

Bertrand produced a personal best 10.92 seconds in May this year at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds at Jacksonville, Florida.

In the field events, 2012 Olympic javelin throw champion Keshorn Walcott wrapped up his ninth national title with a throw of 83.57 meters.

He fended off Guyana Defence Force athlete and national record holder Leslin Baird (72.16), with Anthony Diaz of Point Fortin New Jets in third (69.21).

Walcott, 32, produced the winning throw with his first legal effort, also recording 82.03m during the competition.

The former Olympic champion has a season’s best of 84.65, and continues to chase the World Championship standard of 85.50m.

In the throws, Christopher Crawford recorded a rare double victory, copping gold in the shot put and discus, while achieving NACAC-qualifying distances for both disciplines.

The Kaizen Panthers thrower took the shot put on Saturday with a mark of 18.78 meters, and then returned on Sunday to top the field in the discus with 56.01 meters.

Crawford, 23, also took national discus throw honours in 2022 (55.01m) and was a bronze medallist at the NACAC U23 Championships in 2023 (17.84m).

Mercury’s Lalenii Grant and Kaizen Panthers’ Shakera Kirk also wrapped up qualification for the NACAC Championships with sterling performances in the women’s discus throw.

Grant, 20, completed a hat-trick of national discus throw titles with her final throw (52.40m).

Kirk had four throws disqualified because of fouls but made her fourth throw count (49.02 meters), securing second place.

A new generation of talent also made their mark at the 2025 National Senior Championships.

Zenith Athletics’ Alexxe Henry was the brightest star in that respect, brushing off the disappointment of a fifth-place finish in the women’s 100m dash to claim her first national title by winning the 200m crown.

The Tobago-born sprinter, 19, took gold in 23.33 seconds, with Kayla Charles (23.62) and Sierra Joseph (23.87) in second and third, respectively.

Henry later said she had to reset mentally after the disappointment of the 100m and trusted her training.

In the women’s long jump, Baylor University freshman Janae De Gannes ended national record holder Tyra Gittens-Spotsville’s hold on the title with a golden 6.13m leap.

Gittens-Spotsville, 27, who earned the title in 2024 with a jump of 6.47 meters, had to settle for silver (6.10 meters), with Keneisha Shelbourne, who has won national titles previously in the high jump and the triple jump, taking bronze (5.70m).

De Gannes took the silver medal at the 2025 Carifta Games (6.36m), while Shelbourne won the triple jump gold medal at the annual Caribbean championships (12.89m).

On the track, Omari Lewis copped his first national title, edging out Jaden De Souza to win the men’s 100m in 10.19s.

Both athletes dipped under the 10.28 NACAC mark.

Lewis, who represents Concorde Athletics, has gone lower for the season, sprinting 10.07 seconds at the East Coast Relays in May at Jacksonville, Florida.

In the men’s 400m final, Jaden Marchan of Siparia Athletics dug deep to hold off the Abilene Wildcats duo of Shakeem McKay (46.36) and Daeshaun Cole (46.62) to clinch gold in 46.33s.

It was the first national title for the Georgetown University freshman.

Double Carifta Games medallist and national netball junior netball star, Shian Lewis, also earned her first national title, winning the women’s 400m final on Saturday.

The tall sprinter swooped in late to overtake early contenders Hannah Reid and Kayla Charles and take gold in 55.94 seconds.

Charles (55.96) and Reid (56.01) earned silver and bronze, respectively.

The distance events also produced several thrilling finishes with Nicholas Romany, Tafari Waldron, and Nicholas Landeau writing another chapter in their storied careers.

Romany, who represents the Trinidad and Tobago Road Runners Club, took his first national 1,500m title with a commanding win on Saturday.

The 31-year-old’s time of three minutes 50.67 seconds (3:50.67) was almost 10 seconds clear of five-time national 1,500m champion Nicholas Landeau, who was second in 3:59.94.

Landeau of Pace and Performance Factory (PPF) was not to be denied a tenth national title, as he claimed the 800m gold medal—his fifth overall—in 1:49.97.

Zalen Nelson of Morvant Jets was second (1:51.06), with Jahfa Woodley of Memphis Pioneers in third (1:53.68).

The 30-year-old Landeau won his first national title in 2015 and has shown remarkable consistency in his performances during the last decade.

Romany had his sights set on a 1,500m/5,000m double, but his hopes were dashed by training partner Tafari Waldron, who outsprinted him in the final 100 meters to win his first national 5,000m title.

Cougars Athletics Club athlete Waldron won in 14:42.83, while Romany had to settle for second in 14:44.33.

Both athletes were well inside the NACAC qualifying mark of 15 minutes.

Waldron was the Carifta Games 5,000m champion in 2023 and 2024.

Abilene Wildcats emerged as the champion team, scoring 68 points in the 19 events to determine the winners. Port-of-Spain-based Concorde Athletic (59) and Tobago’s Kaizen Panthers (54) rounded off the top three.

Pace and Performance Factory, which was rebranded after the Carifta Games in April, was fourth with 53 points.

NAAATT general secretary Jehue Gordon said there were several exciting performances during the championships, and he was excited by what he saw from the younger athletes.

“Most of our athletes are newly transitioned to the senior category, or even breaking through to the elite category. We still have some work to do in breaking through to the elite level,” he said.

“We are seeing some promising performances; it’s just that we have to understand that we are transitioning, and it will take some time to get back to where we know we are supposed to be.”

Gordon also pointed out several areas of concern for the NAAATT within the current local track and field landscape.

The former world champion 400m hurdler said that several disciplines are “under-competitive” and undersubscribed at present:

“Those are some of the areas that we definitely have to do some work with our coaches to see how best we can get more persons into those areas.”

Among the disciplines not contested at the 2025 National Senior Championships were the 110m hurdles and the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

Looking forward to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September, Gordon said that Trinidad and Tobago will be sending a small team, predicting that Team TT will produce several finalists to compete for precious metal in Tokyo.

“Keshorn has the experience. Jereem has the experience. They made it to the Olympic finals last year. I don’t see persons that can take that away from them in terms of making the finals [in Tokyo],” Gordon said.

“[Bertrand] has already run 10.9, and once Leah gets anywhere close to her personal best, I don’t see her not making it to the finals.”

“We do have Tyra Gittens just outside of the quota, and in with a possibility. So, a pretty small team this year,” said the NAAATT general secretary. “The quality is there that we could have three, if not four, finalists at the World Championships. It is not going to be an easy task.

“However, the great thing about sports is nobody’s names are written on the medals as yet, as nothing is guaranteed.”

Champions Roll

Men

100m: Omari Lewis – 10.19s;

200m: Jereem Richards – 20.21s;

400m: Jaden Marchan – 46.33s;

800m: Nicholas Landeau – 1:49.97;

1,500m: Nicholas Romany – 3:50.67;

5,000m: Tafari Waldron – 14:42.83;

400m Hurdles: Kadesh Roberts – 53.55s;

High Jump: Kareem Roberts – 1.90m;

Long Jump: Kelsey Daniel – 7.36m;

Triple Jump: Kristiano Perez – 14.75m;

Shot Put: Christopher Crawford – 18.78m;

Discus Throw: Christopher Crawford – 56.01m;

Javelin Throw: Keshorn Walcott – 83.57m;

4x100m relay: Simplex Athletics Club – Elijah Simmons, Mikhail Byer, Hakeem Chinapoo, Raheem McCalman – 41.17s;

4x400m Relay: Memphis Pioneers – Cyril Sumner, Keone John, Kadesh Roberts, Joshua Perry – 3:15.73;

Women

100m: Leah Bertrand – 11.04s;

200m: Alexxe Henry – 23.33s;

400m: Shian Lewis – 55.94s;

100m Hurdles: Kaori Robley – 14.71s;

400m Hurdles: Kaori Robley – 1:05.10;

Long Jump: Janae De Gannes – 6.13m;

Triple Jump: Kernesha Shelbourne – 12.91m;

Shot Put: Peyton Winter – 13.58m;

Discus Throw: Lalenii Grant – 52.40m;

Hammer Throw: Natally Lindo – 50.05m;

Javelin Throw: Gwendolyn Smith – 33.31m.

Combined Team Scores (Top 10)

1.Abilene Wildcats – 68;

2.Concorde Athletic – 59;

3.Kaizen Panthers – 54;

4.Pace and Performance Factor – 53;

5.Simplex Athletics – 44;

6.Memphis Pioneers – 40;

7.Point Fortin New Jets – 35;

8.Burnley Athletics – 35;

9.Ascend Athletics – 24;

10.D’Abadie Progressive – 22.

Achieved World Championship Standard

Women

100m: Leah Bertrand – 11.04;

Achieved NACAC Standard

Men

100m: Omari Lewis (10.19), Jaden DeSouza (10.20);

200m: Jereem Richards (20.21), Elijah Joseph (20.69);

1,500m: Nicholas Romany – 3:50.67;

5,000m: Tafari Waldron (14:42.83), Nicholas Romany (14.44.33);

Shot Put: Christopher Crawford – 18.78m;

Discus Throw: Christopher Crawford – 56.01m;

Javelin Throw: Keshorn Walcott – 83.57m;

Women

100m: Leah Bertrand (11.04), Shaniqua Bascombe (11.17), Akilah Lewis (11.38);

200m: Alexxe Henry – 23.33s;

Discus Throw: Lalenii Grant (52.40m), Shakera Kirk (49.02m).