REST, reset, refocus and return.

Nicholas Paul’s Olympic journey has just begun. Although the speedster concluded his debut at the Tokyo Games with a credible sixth-place finish in the men’s sprint, he believes this is just the beginning.

“I’ll start by saying thanks to God. It’s been a long journey and He’s been taking me through. He guided and protected me so I just want to give Him thanks. I prepared for four years for Tokyo 2020 and got another year because of the Games being postponed,” he said.

The 22-year-old’s sixth-place finish in the sprints came with some controversy after he defeated Russian Olympic Committee’s Denis Dmitriev in two straight quarter-final rides.

After winning both races, officials forced a third and decisive ride as the TT cyclist was relegated for a violation in the second race. Dmitriev went on to win the third race, advance to the semis and eliminate all hopes of Paul medalling in the sprint.

Similarly in semi-final heat two of the men’s keirin, Paul was favoured to advance to the medal race (1st to 5th final). However, he finished outside of the top two automatic qualifiers and was scheduled to contest the race for 7th to 12th position.

But during his semi-final ride, the cyclist picked up his second warning from race officials after he rode slightly off the track to gain an advantage in the last sprint. This second warning of the Games saw him disqualified and unable to place.

Looking back, the men’s Flying 200m world record holder (9.1 seconds) sees his mistakes on the track as two additional opportunities to improve his craft.

On his keirin disqualification, he said, “It was a bit of a sweet and sour moment because yes, I was disqualified and could not go on to the next round. At the same time, it taught me to always ride the race a bit smarter.

“I’m going back to the drawing board, there’s a lot to work on. I learnt a lot. I’m going back to the drawing board and come again; bigger, faster and stronger. These happenings made it a great learning experience for me as well.”

The men’s keirin was also contested by compatriot Kwesi Browne, who placed an impressive ninth among a field of other top-ranked international cyclists.

This event also served as TT’s final chance of securing the nation’s first medal at the Games after 29 of the 33 national athletes were unable to do so. Two athletes, Anduwelle Wright (men’s long jump) and Sparkle McKnight (women’s 200m) also had a premature end to their Olympic campaign after returning positive covid19 tests.

Heading into TT’s final event of the historic Games, Paul said there was no added pressure placed on him and Browne to salvage an Olympic medal.

“We couldn’t pressure ourselves because we had to go out there and execute the game plan and try to win. It’s always about putting your best foot forward. Yes, we wanted to deliver the medal for TT but it didn’t happen at this time. I trust with time, it would come,” he added.

Paul, who rides domestically for Central Spokes Cycling Club, admitted that it was tough to