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Kellon
Marshall at the Carifta Games on the weekend ahead of competing
in the shot put on day two.
Photo:
Anthony Harris
By
Jovan Ravello
T&T’s field athletes have recently begun to cause
quite a stir on both the regional and international circuits.
Testament to this are the exploits of Cleopatra Borel and
Candace Scott at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Scott became the first T&T athlete to reach the final
of the women’s hammer throw at the Games, eventually
finishing ninth with a 69.94 metres throw.
Her performance earned her the 2004 First Citizen’s Bank-sponsored
“Sportswoman of the Year” award for the second time
running.
And after his performance at the 2005 Carifta Games last weekend
at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Tobago Kellon Marshall
appears to be on the road to similar success.
Marshall just missed out on the bronze medal in the Boys’
Under-20 discus throw at the Carifta Games. He placed fourth
with a 45.26-metre throw.
Speaking from the Games in Tobago, the 16-year-old Dovers
Athletics Club athlete said he was both pleased and disappointed
with his performance.
Marshall’s best throw on the first day of competition
was a personal best — an improvement on his 43.21 metres
throw in the trials.
In an upbeat mood, Marshall related how an untimely shower
hampered his final throw when he had the bronze medal well
in sight.
He described his Carifta Games stint as a good experience,
citing the fact that he raised his standard against rivals
who are two to three years his senior.
A Form Five student of St Stephen’s College of Princes
Town, Marshall remembers his first regional track and field
meet — the Caribbean Union of Teachers Games in 1998
— at which he won the 100 metres and helped his team
to second place in the 4x100m relay.
This was almost immediately followed by a two-year hiatus
from competition, during which he focused heavily on his academics.
His return to the track in 2002 was anything but triumphant.
The then Form Two student was sidelined from sprinting by
injury and he quickly moved to the field events in which he
made an instant impact by qualifying for the Secondary Schools
Games.
In 2003, Marshall decided to go for glory in the discus and
shot put events and struck gold in the Boys’ Under-17
discus throw with a 36.99 shy and he joined the Dovers club
that year.
Asked what may be responsible for the upsurge in the quality
of performances by T&T’s field athletes, Marshall
alluded it to a high level of natural ability.
In his case, he said, it seems that his body has continually
rebelled against the track as he was injured for the second
time in 2003, making sure that he spent the year focusing
on polishing up his technique in field events.
The year’s hard work paid off as he was named to the
Carifta team, after qualifying for the discus throw and shot
put events in which he finished fifth and eighth respectively.
Last year, he improved his placings, finishing third and fifth
respectively in the same events in the Bahamas, as despite
the fact that he found the going tough, he refused to count
himself out.
A Torib/Tabaquite Road, Busy Corner resident, Marshall considers
himself one of T&T’s top athletics juniors and says
so without a hint of youthful brashness but with great confidence
and frankness.
Those qualities in him seem to have developed in a highly
supportive environment in which his parents allow him to realise
his ambitions while, at the same time, they keep him grounded.
He spoke in glowing terms of his parents’ sacrifice to
see him succeed and their interest in his exploits on the
track, in the field, and in the classroom.
Marshall is quick to point out that he recognises the importance
of both entities and, while he is building his profile as
an athlete, he is also focused on obtaining a university education,
in preparation for life after athletics.
He is aiming at a scholarship and he is aligning his aspirations
with the success of T&T sprint star Darrel Brown, who
he admires for his talent and poise.
Having attended most of the meets in which his son competed,
Kellon’s father, Charles, says he is pleased with the
well-spoken teenager’s progress but would like him to
be more aggressive.
In response to that. Kellon said he would rather not get involved
in any verbal scraps before events, stating that he prefers
to concentrate on proving himself in competition.
His dad shares the view of many in the athletics fraternity
that there needs to be more concern for the field athlete,
noting that many of the nation’s facilities do not have
field-0event facilities.
Despite that, however, Kellon Marshall says there is no room
for distractions and assures that he will not disappoint the
people who have a vested interest in him.
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