Trinidad and Tobago’s sprint cyclists endured a difficult second day at the TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai, China, with Kwesi Browne emerging as the country’s highest finisher in the men’s keirin after placing 19th.
Browne was unable to secure a quarter-final berth despite two attempts to advance. He finished third in his first-round heat, 0.301 seconds behind Japan’s Kaiya Ota, who won ahead of Malaysia’s Mohd Azizulhasni Awang to claim automatic qualification. The result sent Browne into the repechage, where he again placed third, behind China’s Han Xie and Nikita Kalachnik of the Individual Neutral Athletes. Only the first two riders in each repechage heat advanced to the quarter-finals.
Fellow Trinidad and Tobago sprinters Njisane Phillip and Nicholas Paul also exited the men’s keirin before the quarter-final stage. Paul finished third in his opening heat behind Australia’s Daniel Barber and the Netherlands’ Jeffrey Hoogland. In the repechage, he placed sixth and last in his heat, finishing 0.668 seconds behind Australian winner Leigh Hoffman.
Phillip had a similarly challenging outing. He finished seventh and last in his first-round heat, 0.504 seconds behind Germany’s Maximilian Dornbach. Returning for the repechage, Phillip placed fifth in his heat, ending his campaign after finishing 0.139 seconds behind French winner Rayan Helal.
The results extended beyond the men’s keirin, with Trinidad and Tobago also missing out in two women’s events. Endurance rider Alexi Costa-Ramirez finished 22nd among 23 competitors in the women’s elimination race, while Makaira Wallace placed 25th and last in the women’s sprint qualifying round and did not advance.
Despite the setbacks, Trinidad and Tobago had another opportunity to compete at the championships, with Teniel Campbell scheduled to be the country’s sole rider in action the following day. She was set to contest the women’s omnium, an event that would provide a different test from the sprint disciplines in which Browne, Phillip and Paul had competed.
The results reported from Shanghai left Browne as Trinidad and Tobago’s leading performer on the second day, although his 19th-place finish was not enough to keep him in contention for the keirin title. With Campbell due to race next, attention turned to the country’s remaining opportunity to make an impression at the championships.
