00:01This is Gwendolyn Smith, an athlete who continues to train assiduously with the aim of making Trinidad and Tobago proud
00:08on the world stage.
00:09Smith took part in the World Masters Athletics Championships held in South Korea recently where she earned three medals.
00:16She grabbed gold in the javelin and also two silvers, one in the short put and the other in the
00:22throws pentathlon.
00:23It's really an event for Masters over the age of 35 and as we know here in Trinidad we have
00:35some top recognised athletes in the country so despite the odds we try to give ourselves the opportunity to represent
00:46with or without the help of government or otherwise.
00:52We really try to give the red, white and black one of the flavours of the Caribbean out there in
00:59our age groups.
01:01In order to compete at the international level, Smith, despite her age, still had to put in a lot of
01:07work.
01:08It meant she had to train six to seven days a week in order to reap the rewards in the
01:12end.
01:13I am talking intense training, gym, running on the track, doing hills, lifting.
01:23Technical side is everything you have to do. Everything that a young athlete is doing, we have to do the
01:31same thing.
01:31There is no difference. The only difference in what we do is our ages.
01:37But there is no space or no time between the training programme that is set.
01:44Before she could think about going to South Korea, funding was important.
01:48And despite facing several challenges, she was determined to book her plane ticket because of her love for what she
01:55does.
01:55As such, she had to find ways to raise the money.
01:58I lost my job December. My contract ended and I was sent home.
02:05And I was not able to get another job since.
02:11And I'm considering my age and on the battlefield with young people also looking for jobs.
02:16So I respect that.
02:19So literally, I had to host a lunch and some of the things to fund myself.
02:26And that is just not enough. So, you know, my credit card is maxed out.
02:31It's not just the love for track and field, but also flying the red, white and black flag that keeps
02:37her going.
02:37But the 62-year-old was hurt since she was not able to receive support from government or corporate TNT
02:44to take her to the Asian continent.
02:46It's a sense of dismay and discouragement because I know better could be done.
02:57We have had this battle from inception.
03:00We have had people in positions of power literally making it hard for us to get funding to go.
03:08The comments about what we do is nonsense.
03:14We have had people even ask in media houses, why are you able to cover that nonsense?
03:19Smith will return to training very soon as she prepares for the 2027 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Florida
03:27in the month of March.
03:28We don´t have it on January newslet after its and the next year.
03:31We don´t have any updates on girders, or have the game right to take your thundes, or even Medic in
03:33Florida.
03:33So, you currently believe that we would need to continue and review the 3rd 10 Só الش5656jes.
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