If Paul Pogba had had the temerity to be the first to do what Cristiano Ronaldo did during his media conference, would the UEFA response have been as muted? The question lurked darkly in my mind as I watched the TV news reporting the UEFA warning to the players to …
Read More »Team Thema: No comment; Gymnast focuses on TTGF battle as former doctor jailed for up to 175 years
Trinidad and Tobago gymnast Thema Williams will not comment on the sex scandal that has engulfed her former United States coach John Geddert and his Twistars USA Gymnastics Club doctor Larry Nassar. Geddert, who coached USA’s gold medal-winning London 2012 Olympics team, was Williams’ coach in the lead-up to the …
Read More »Raucous in Rio: Live Wire envies the Tonga man, serves Chow and touches that Dick again
“Whoday Whoday oy!” As it turns out, the first major event of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games was synchronised oogling, as the Tonga man—the nation’s flag bearer and taekwondo fighter Pita Nikolas Taufatofua—became the first hit of the most popular sporting event on the planet by whipping up an oil …
Read More »TTGF promises “fantastic event”; warns of possible repercussions for rebel clubs
The Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) vowed to put on a fantastic National Championship tomorrow despite receiving no funding from the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT). The TTGF is also facing a boycott from seven clubs and over 60 percent of the local gymnasts, including all of its …
Read More »SPORTT blanks TTGF; national gymnastics championship in doubt
The 2016 Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) National Championship is in doubt after the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) declined their request for funding. The TTGF requested TT$118,000 from SPORTT but was rejected for a variety of reasons, including late application, low number of participants and failure …
Read More »Dicks dispute Rio trip timeline; ‘new evidence’ in unfolding gymnastics saga
Trinidad and Tobago international gymnast Marisa Dick and her mother, Hannifer Dick, are now refuting information published in an Edmonton Journal article, which claimed that the athlete began her trip to Rio de Janeiro at 9 pm (Alberta time) on Friday April 15. Dick (H) said today that the duo …
Read More »And STILL the champion… Thema gets rousing welcome on return from Rio
Trinidad and Tobago gymnast Thema Williams returned from Brazil to a rousing welcome this morning, as over 200 persons waited until after midnight to greet the 20 year old athlete at the Piarco International Airport. Williams’ godmother, Nikki Crosby, had a surprise waiting. As the former Tots and Tumblers gymnast …
Read More »Gymnastics Federation axes Thema on eve of Rio event; TTGF flies in Marisa Dick
Trinidad and Tobago gymnast Thema Williams’ dream of representing her country are now in the hands of her attorneys, after the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) removed her as the country’s athlete for the 2016 Rio Olympics Test event with just hours to go. The TTGF decision, which was …
Read More »Is an exposed shoulder pornography?! Thema’s coach on impact of topless photo
“From an adult perspective, I find it difficult to justify all the drama,” stated John Geddert, the coach of Trinidad and Tobago gymnast Thema Williams and the USA Olympic team. “The photo incident has exploded into a realm of ridiculous proportions.” The following letter is an excerpt from gymnastics coach …
Read More »You want Thema because she’s black! Gymnastics insider wants Marisa for Rio
With less than 24 hours before the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) must officially select its athlete for the Rio Olympics Test Event, a gymnastics insider has admitted that the sporting body is divided between its two star athletes, Thema Williams and Marisa Dick. And, intriguingly, the source claimed …
Read More »TTGF blanks Thema; USA Olympic coach bemoans sabotage of T&T gymnast’s chances
United States coach John Geddert, who was the US women team’s head coach at the London 2012 Olympics, has accused the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) of standing in the way of Thema Williams’ Olympic preparations—in an explosive exchange of emails—after the local body refused to grant permission for …
Read More »TTOC: Let athletes focus! Gymnastics body tarries as Thema and Marisa wait
Remarkably, 17 days after the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) balked at a topless photo of national gymnast Thema Williams and exactly two weeks after a similar shot of her teammate, Marisa Dick, was also leaked, the local sporting body still has not made a decision about the fate …
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