At 3.30 pm (4.30 pm Rio time) today, 18 year old Marisa Dick will take the floor in Rio de Janeiro to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2016 Olympic Test event for women’s artistic gymnastics. It will be at the expense of her teammate Thema Williams, 20, who booked …
Read More »TTGF official: I didn’t kill nobody! Wired868 reveals email that led to Dick call-up for Thema
Trinidad and Tobago gymnast Marisa Dick will fly to Brazil tomorrow morning and represent her country on the same day, as the local gymnastics furore apparently came to a stunning conclusion today. Dick, who was the alternate athlete for the 2016 Rio Olympic Test event, replaces Thema Williams, who, according …
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 »Thema needs closure; concern that TTGF disciplinary threat remains possible
Thema Williams’ attorney, Keith Scotland, and Tots and Tumblers owner, Annette Telfer, have urged the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) to bring closure to its disciplinary action against the Rio-bound gymnast at a midday press conference today in Port of Spain. On Tuesday March 15, the TTGF officially announced …
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 »Smith: Leave me out of it! Sport Minister will not intervene in gymnastics furore
Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Darryl Smith has refused to intervene in the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation’s (TTGF) dispute with its two star athletes, Thema Williams and Marisa Dick, on the eve of its selection for the Rio 2016 Olympic Test Event. The TTGF has until tomorrow to select …
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 »A familiar depression: Daly bemoans PNM’s poor communication and belligerence
This time last week, a familiar depression settled on me. It is best described by referring to some of what I wrote in November 2010, six months after the so-called “People’s Partnership Government” was in office. At that time, I suggested: “The bottom line is that a mere six months …
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 …
Read More »Thema, Marisa still in limbo; Gymnastics Federation vow to meet soon but no date set
Two weeks after the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) referred its two star athletes to a disciplinary committee, Thema Williams and Marisa Dick remain unsure about what happens next, as the local sporting body is yet to set a hearing date. Wired868 confirmed yesterday that the TTGF, which comprises …
Read More »TTGF: Olympic spot belongs to T&T not Thema or Marisa; disciplinary summit delayed
The Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) will send a representative to the Rio 2016 Olympics Test Event regardless of whether Thema Williams, Marisa Dick or neither of the above is declared to be fit to represent the “Red, Black and White.” As both gifted gymnasts prepare to face the …
Read More »Some of Marisa’s critics would make Trump blush; Shaka joins gymnastics debate
I see, in Trinidad and Tobago, the discrimination against foreign-born athletes is alive and kicking. Full disclosure: I was born in the UK and represented T&T with all of my pride. I also have more than a passing interest in gymnastics. So I have followed the personalities, issues and discussion …
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