To date, Akeem Stewart is the only Trinidad and Tobago para-athlete confirmed to participate in the upcoming Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
The 28-year old punched his ticket when he captured gold at the 2019 Parapan Games in the men's F64 discus event with a World and Pan American F43 record of 63.70 metres.
At that same meet, national sprinter Nyoshia Cain-Claxton also secured Paralympic qualification in the women's T44 100m and 200m events. She will be absent from the Tokyo meet, however, because of her pregnancy.
Both Stewart and Cain-Claxton also finished among the medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The former won gold and silver in the men's javelin and discus throw respectively while the latter sprinted to bronze in the T44 100m.
Para-swimmer Shantol Ince also represented TT at the 2016 Games and Parapan three years later, but was unable to secure qualification this time around.
Owing to the pandemic and the many uncertainties that surround international travel and competitions, Special Olympics of TT (SOTT) president Sudhir Ramessar said the global health crisis has taken a toll on the local Paralympic fraternity.
'Covid19 has put a damper on everything regarding the athletes' qualification process.
"It's always a bit more challenging when it comes to para-athletes. As of today, there's only person that's guaranteed a place - Akeem Stewart. Two people have qualified, but only one will be going,' he said.
Ramessar said wheelchair racer Jabari Knights is still chasing Paralympic qualification. He is in Switzerland, gearing up for an upcoming meet where he hopes to surpass the qualification standard.
England-based para-athlete (rowing) Ian Barrington was unable to travel to any qualifiers in Europe because of covid19 regulations and border restrictions.
Ramessar rued Barrington's quandary but has kept the door open for Knights if he does secure a Paralympic spot for TT.
In March 2020, when para-athletes were getting ready to head off to competition, the pandemic hit and cancelled the majority of top-flight competition for the rest of the season.
Track and field event, in some European countries, only resumed in 2021 and Ramessar said the US offered very limited opportunities for TT athletes to qualify, since it was also dealing with a serious resurgence in covid19 cases.
'With so many different scenarios surrounding the pandemic, travel, qualification and quarantine, it is difficult to take athletes with disabilities on these trips. It is very challenging.
'Our athletes are somewhat at a disadvantage because when the season starts, these athletes do not benefit from indoor meets and are unable to complete year-round as compared to normal athletes.'
Ramessar said the majority of TT's athletes chasing Paralympic qualification needed to be based abroad to access better training and competitions. Covid19 wrecked any such plans.
'TT will be represented at the Game
