Akeem Stewart becomes lone athlete to represent T&T at 2024 Paralympic Games

Trinidad and Tobago: Akeem Stewart, the Paralympic Field Athlete of Trinidad and Tobago, will be the lone ‘Trinbagonian’ flying the ‘Red, White, and Black’ colors at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

The tournament is carded to start from today (Wednesday 28th August) and runs until the 8th of September. The Athlete along with his coach arrived at the Games Village on August 26 ahead of the opening if the international games.

Trinidad and Tobago’s two-time medalist at the Paralympics will compete in one event, namely, the men’s Discus F64 competition, a merged class at the Games being held in Paris.

The prestigious tournament features some 4,400 athletes from around the world as they will be competing in 22 sports across various iconic venues including the Eiffel Tower, the Chateau de Versailles, and the Grand Palais.

This is the second Paralympic Games for Stewart, who hails from the isle of Tobago, as Trinidad and Tobago had no athletes at the virus-delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, held in Japan in 2021.

At his first Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he clinched gold in the Javelin F44 as well as silver in the Discus F44.

Stewart enters his second Paralympic Games with a wealth of success having set new F43 world records in both the Javelin and Shot Put on his way to victory at the 2017 World Championships in London, England.

Earlier this week, the athlete said that he is focused on his goal to achieve a milestone and said, “I'm just trying to take the best out of it right now and stay positive.”

He also said that he has been training hard leading up to this game for months now and right now he is staying calm and added, “I'm not the type of person to pressure myself going into a competition. So, I tend to just start my distraction by playing games, talking to my friends, and making jokes with my coach. You know, I'm trying to be comfortable and relaxed as possible going into the meet.”

He further expressed his enthusiasm for giving his best performance and making his country proud once again.