TWO-TIME Carifta Games champion and national record holder Tafari Waldron joined an elite group of young runners when he picked up a rare second successive Junior Athlete of the Year Award from the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) on January 4 in a ceremony held at Radisson Hotel in Port of Spain.
Waldron also won the Under-20 Athlete of the Year Award after what he described as a "tough year." His 2024 season was laden with accolades, most notably defending the 5,000-metre title at the Carifta Games in April, bringing his tally over the years to three medals, including two gold. He also stunned more seasoned runners in November, clinching his first UWI SPEC International Half-Marathon title.
Reflecting on his achievements, Waldron told Newsday, “I did not expect the award to be honest, seeing that I got the award in 2023. I didn’t really expect to get it again this year because we saw good performances from the other athletes, too.
“But it means a lot to me because I was working towards getting it again. It was a tough year with a lot of struggles, ups and downs. It’s really hard to attain the national record and defend the Carifta title, so I’m very proud of that.”
Waldron's Under-20 5,000m national record is 14 minutes, 57.95 seconds, which he set at the Carifta trials. He won the Carifta 5,000m gold medal in 15:01.60.
Waldron is now a senior athlete and says he is firmly focused on winning the senior equivalent and many more medals in the upcoming years.
“I’ll be working towards the Commonwealth Games in 2026,” he announced. “Before that, this year, I want to make the NACAC (North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association) Under-23 team (and compete) in any other senior meets and potentially medal in all of them.”
Long jump prodigy Janae De Gannes, who won the Junior Female Athlete of the Year Award, joined him among the junior honourees.
De Gannes’ 2024 season was highlighted by her Carifta Games performance, where she broke the long jump record and earned the prestigious Austin Sealey Award for the competition’s most outstanding athlete.
She also captured the Under-20 Female Field Athlete of the Year title.
[caption id="attachment_1105144" align="alignnone" width="757"] Janae De Gannes. - File photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
De Gannes’ achievements were part of a stellar season that confirmed her as one of TT’s most promising athletes.
At the senior level, Olympic 200m and 400m specialist Jereem Richards and national sprint champion Leah Bertrand stood out as the top performers of 2024.
Richards, a two-time World Indoor 400m champion, made history at the Paris Olympics by setting a new national record of 43.78 seconds in the 400m and becoming the first Trinidadian to break the 44-second barrier. He placed fourth in the final.
Alongside his Senior Male Athlete of the Year award, Richards was named Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, a testament to his stellar performances throughout the season.
Bertrand, meanwhile, has emerged as TT’s
