Sports review 2019 |31 December 2019
Felicity Passon
Non-compliance, financial malpractices mar season
● Impressive results away from home
The year 2019 will go down in the local sports’ history as a dark one, marred by deception, financial malpractices, non-compliance and last but not least, a huge decline in the level of performances, both locally and at international level.
Sports, being associated with businesses and money, provide the right opportunity and motivation for corrupt practices, especially financial malpractices, and Seychelles being a small country has not been spared from the syndrome.
For the first time ever in the local sporting history, the Attorney General’s office has been directly involved in investigating a local sport association, following several complaints and solid evidence that were brought forward regarding corruption and financial fraud.
2019 was also a year where the office of Registrar of Associations was actively involved in sports, in relation to various cases of non-compliance within the local sporting federations, despite numerous calls made for them to regularise their position.
The level of non-compliance indicates that some of the national sport associations do not have regard for the laws of the land and despite promises of measures from the National Sports Council (NSC) through its chief executive Jean Larue to ensure that problems are resolved once and for all.
Even with the big promises from the local sports’ governing body to remedy the situation, Registrar General Wendy Pierre had and is still a common figure on the local sports scene, trying her utmost best to educate those involved about the severity of the offence.
On one occasion, Mrs Pierre even explained that regardless of its size, a small sporting federation, or association which is non-compliant can have a huge negative impact on the country’s international record, or rating which could lead to the country being blacklisted.
She even suggested that in future, the different federations should appoint members with some good academic background in various posts on their executive committee to avoid issues which could lead to non-compliancy.
Despite the poor leadership and the sad state of affairs, local athletes in both team and individual disciplines have kept pushing harder during the year to attain their personal goals as well as their teams’ success.
At the 10th Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) in Mauritius, Seychelles finished fourth behind Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar with 111 medals – 28 gold, 32 silver and 51 bronze.
Ziad Mekdachi gets IFFB elite pro card
Local poser Ziad Mekdachi, 39, became the first professional bodybuilder from the Indian Ocean region, after getting his IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding) elite pro card.
Mekdachi received his card after winning the 100kg category and the overall prize at the 4th Arnold Classic Africa 2019 IFBB pro qualifier organised by the IFBB Europe inside the Sandton Convention Centre in Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa in May this year.
Rodney Govinden books Tokyo Olympics Games 2020 tickets
Laser specialist Rodney Govinden is the first Seychellois athlete to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan after clinching the Laser gold medal at the 2019 African Championship RSX and Laser.
With three first places, five second places, one third place, one 10th place and one 11th position; he finished with 22 points after his two worst finishes – 10th and 11th places – were discarded. This was enough to book him a place in Tokyo next year.
The Tokyo Olympics will be Govinden’s second participation at the Games, after competing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016 where he finished 45th overall.
Damien Laporte shines in South America
At 17 years of age, young local tennis sensation Damien Laporte left his prints on the South American soil this year, precisely at the International Tennis Federation’s J5 tournaments in South America where he won gold in both singles and doubles at the Guatemala and Costa Rica tournaments.
Reigning young male athlete of the year Laporte is also in the race to defend his title again this year after finishing among the top five finalists.
Presently a member of the Academia Sánchez-Casal, an internationally known high-performance training centre in Barcelona, Spain, Damien who leaves the country on Thursday is targeting the Junior Grand Slams qualifications in 2020.
Felicity Passon dominates the pool
Nicknamed the ‘Golden Girl’ in 2019, swimmer Felicity Passon has dominated the swimming pool at both regional and continental levels.
Firstly at the 10th Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) held in Mauritius in July, Passon won 11 medals – seven gold, three silver and one bronze – while at the 12th African Games in Rabat, Morocco in August, she won four medals, namely two gold, a silver and a bronze.
The exploit made her the first Seychellois swimmer to win a gold medal at the African Games.
Her two gold medals were in 100m backstroke where she clocked 1 minute 02.42 seconds (1:02.42) and in the 200m backstroke where she finished in 2:14.55.
Her silver medal came in the 50m backstroke in a time of 29.17 seconds, while her bronze medal came in the 100m butterfly where she swam in 1:00.61.
32 medals and three new black belts for the Northern Tang Soo
The Northern Tang Soo Do team took part in the World Tang Soo Do Association’s European Championship held in the Netherlands from October 24-26 and harvested a grand total of 32 medals.
Led by Master James Faure, who also served as an international judge during the championship, the team made up of 15 competitors won 10 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze medals.
The medallists were David Boniface (three gold), Steve Marie (two gold and a silver), Alvin Bistoquet (two gold and a silver), Mastura Shah-Faure (one gold, one silver and a bronze), Dean Athanase (one gold and two silver), Martin Cedras (one gold and two bronze), Jean-Paul Philo (one silver and one bronze), Tara Michel (one silver and two bronze), Justine Madeleine (one silver and one bronze), Daniel Bedier (two silver and one bronze), Lindy Bedier (one silver and one bronze), Joseph Bibi (one silver) and Louis Vidot (one bronze).
The team also won two grand champions Cup courtesy of Steve Marie in the 1st dan black belt category and David Boniface in the brown belt to blue belt senior category.
During the championship, the karatekas also took part in clinics organised both for Gup (colour belt holders) and Dan (black belt holders).
The club also welcomed three new black belts first dan in its ranks, following their successful belt grading in Gaborone, Botswana.
The grading session took place during the World Tang Soo Do Association African Championship.
The three new graduates are Jahvis Bernard, Che Benoiton and Steve Marie, while Joseph Bibi is now a black belt second dan, after successfully completing his grading on his second attempt.
High jump silver medals for Chetty and Onezime at African Junior championship
Young high jumpers Natacha Chetty and Joshua Onezime brought home two silver medals from the African Junior Championship for the Under-18 and the Under-20 held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in April.
Chetty’s silver medal came after a performance of 1.77m, while Onezime cleared the bar at 2.06m.
Bronze medal for Rick Confiance at British Open Championship
Lifter Rick Confiance won a bronze medal at the British International Open Championship organised simultaneously with the British Senior Championships in Coventry, England.
On the platform of the Ricoh Arena, Confiance got three individual records by lifting 115kg in snatch and 138kg in clean and jerk for an Olympic total of 253kg in the newly introduced 73kg weight category.
In snatch, Confiance lifted 110kg, then 115kg before failing at 120kg. In clean and jerk, he opened with a personal best and Seychelles record of 138kg but then twice failed attempts at 143kg.
Historical bronze medal for Dominic Dugasse at the African Championship
Praslinois judoka Dominic Dugasse entered the history book in 2019 by becoming the first ever Seychellois athlete to win a medal at the African Judo Championship.
The 40th championship took place in Cape Town, South Africa and it was also a qualification for the XXXII Olympic Games set for Tokyo Japan next year.
Dugasse lost in the semi to share the bronze medal with Seidou Nji Mouluh who lost in the other last-four fight.
Gold for Agnes as Allisop settles for silver and Boniface brings home bronze
Defending one’s title is not a sure thing, but reigning Sportsman of the Year, boxer Keddy Agnes had some great moments in 2019, especially at the African Zone 4 boxing championship held in Gaborone, Botswana where he won the gold medal in the +91kg category.
Agnes won his fight 5-0 over a Mozambican pugilist.
At the same competition, Andrique Allisop lost in the final to bring home the silver medal, while Shaine Boniface won a bronze medal in the 69kg category.
Three junior gold medals for Shakira Joubert
Young lifter Shakira Joubert once again performed well this year, bringing home three gold medals from the African Junior and Youth Weightlifting Championships in Kampala, Uganda.
The event was the African Junior (25th Men and 20th Women) Weightlifting Qualification Championships for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the African Youth (11th Men and 10th Women) Weightlifting Championships. It was jointly hosted by the Weightlifting Federation of Africa (WFA), the Uganda Weightlifting Federation in conjunction with the Ugandan Olympic Committee.
In the 87kg category, Rose snatched 60kg and lifted 72kg in the clean and jerk for an Olympic total of 132kg, earning her three gold medals in the junior class.
Team Seychelles, also made up of Joelita Koloma and Anisha Valmont won six additional silver and three bronze medals.
In the 76kg group, Koloma snatched 55kg before lifting 70kg in clean and jerk for an overall total of 125kg, earning her the second overall spot in the group and three silver medals in the youth category.
These same results earned Koloma three bronze medals in the junior class.
Seychelles’ other medals – three silver – came courtesy of junior lifter Valmont in the 81kg category, where she snatched 60kg and lifted 82kg in clean and jerk for a grand total of 142kg.
Two bronze medals from Trevor Lespoir
Following in the footsteps of his father, decorated canoeist Tony Lespoir, young Trevor made the country proud in 2019, bringing home two bronze medals from the African Championships held recently in Egypt.
In the K2 1000m race, Lespoir finished third and he earned a second bronze medal in the K2 200m race.
The demise of basketball in 2019
Once a beloved and admired sport, bringing big weekend crowds to the Victoria Gymnasium, basketball is now dead in Seychelles.
Since the introduction of the format of play, involving a play-off series involving the top six, instead of the traditional top-of-the-league finishers, the sport has plunged into a pit, affecting players, fans, let alone its reputation and future development.
The new mid-year season which began last year had to be stopped prematurely, due to a lack of planning and shortage of venues.
Instead of a play-off series, a knock-out competition was organised to decide a winner and Beau Vallon Heat emerged as the men’s champions, while Mont Fleuri were the women’s winners.
With 2019 now ending, not a single match has been played since the last Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) in July, where our selections, as expected gave a very poor performance.
To make matters worse, the sport’s governing body, the Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF), under the leadership of Terry Celeste is now in a legal mess, with a case on the desk of the Attorney General.
With a huge debt and fraudulent account, the SBF executive committee has really killed the sport.
SFF introduces new football league format
One of the most evident of changes in the local sports in 2019 is the new setting of the SeyPearl and beach soccer leagues.
This football season has switched from a February-to-November schedule to an August-to-May schedule, as per the decision of the SFF executive committee, which is also in line with the Confederation of African Football (Caf) decision to run its competitions, namely the Total Caf Champions League and the Caf Confederation Cup in the same format – also switched from a February-to-November schedule to an August-to-May programme.
The SFF hosted several minor competitions prior to the league to keep the players focused and also to entertain the fans who are used to football actions during that part of the year.
Lilianna Mason rewrites 18-year-old 200m breaststroke record
Late during 2019, young swimmer Liliana Mason demolished Julie Low Thion’s 18-year-old 200m breaststroke record which was 3 minutes 1.87 seconds (3:01.87), lowering it to 2:58.99.
It was during the Mauritius Summer National Championships which took place from December 12-15 at the Pavilion Swimming Pool in Quatre Bornes that 13-year-old Mason set the new time.
Other than the gold and the new record, Mason, who swims for the Mahé Skimmers Sports Club, won another eight medals – six gold and two silver – to add to her team’s tally which was 30 at the championship.
She won gold in 50m, 100m, 400m and 800m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m individual medley, while her two silver medals were in 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke.
Les médaillés seychellois lors de 10èmes JIOI :
ATHLETISME
□ 24 médailles – 6 en or, 5 en argent et 13 de bronze
Les médaillés d’or
● Ned Azemia – 400m haies masculin
● Norris Brioche – saut en hauteur masculin
● Silly Gaylord – 3 000m steeple masculin
● Natasha Chetty – saut en hauteur et saut en longueur féminin
● Iven Moïse – 5 000m masculin
Les médaillés d’argent
● Dylan Sicobo – 100m masculin
● Sharry Dodin – 200m hommes
● L’équipe masculine du relais 4x100m composée de Sharry Dodin, Denzel Adam, Leeroy Henriette et Dylan Sicobo
● Richard Sophola – lancer du poids sport adapté masculin
● Lorna Sophola – 800m sport adapté féminin
Les médaillés de bronze
● Sharry Dodin – 100m masculin
● Iven Moïse – 10 000m masculin
● Joshua Onezime – saut en hauteur masculin
● Dean William – lancer du marteau masculin
● Ned Azemia – 400m masculin
● Natacha Bibi – saut en longueur
● Ronny Bristol – lancer du poids masculin
● Michael Andrew – saut en longueur
● Michael Jean – 800 mètres sport adapté masculin et 100m sport adapté masculin
● Jerry Thérésine – 1 500m fauteuil masculin
● Odile Felix – 100m sport adapté féminin
● Debra Dogley – 200m sourd dames
BADMINTON
□ 3 médailles – 1 en argent et 2 de bronze
Les médaillés d’argent
● Alisen Camille – Simple dame
Les médaillés de bronze
● Alisen Camille et Danielle Jupiter – double dames
● Kervin Ghislain et Jie Luo – double hommes
BEACH VOLLEY
□ 2 médailles – 2 de bronze
Les médaillés de bronze
● L’équipe féminine composée de Nathalie Agnes-Sauer, Terrille Songoire, Ingrid Frederick et Marie-Antoinette Labiche
● Compétition simple, le duo féminin composé de Nathalie Agnes-Sauer et Terrille Songoire
BOXE
□ 6 médailles – 4 en argent et 2 de bronze
Les médaillés d’argent
● Shain Boniface – 69 kilos
● Andrique Allisop – 64 kilos
● Keddy Agnes – 91+ kilos
● Jovette Jean – 81 kilos
Les médaillés de bronze
● Adrian Volcère – 75 kilos
● Nelson Molle – 91 kilos
HALTEROPHILIE
□ 35 médailles – 9 en or, 11 en argent et 15 de bronze
Les médaillés d’or
● Clementina Agricole – 3 dans la catégorie des 59 kilos dames
● Romentha Larue – 3 dans la catégorie des 87 kilos dames
● Steven Baccus – 3 dans la catégorie des 102 kilos hommes
Les médaillés d’argent
● Chakira Rose – 3 dans la catégorie des 87 kilos dames
● Joelita Coloma – 1 dans la catégorie des 81 kilos dames
● Anisha Valmont – 1 dans la catégorie des 81 kilos dames
● Dereck Come – 1 dans la catégorie des 96 kilos dames
● Terrence Dixie – 2 dans la catégorie des 109 kilos hommes
● Elvis Siméon – 1 dans la catégorie des +109 kilos dames
● Rick Confiance – 2 dans la catégorie des 73 kilos hommes
Les médaillés de bronze
● Joelita Coloma – 2 dans la catégorie des 81 kilos dames
● Brenda Lozaique – 3 dans la catégorie des 76 kilos dames
● Romeo Siméon – 1 dans la catégorie des 81 kilos masculin
● Angelo Servina – 2 dans la catégorie des 81 kilos hommes
● Terrence Dixie – 1 dans la catégorie des 109 kilos hommes
● Cyrous Farabeau – 3 dans la catégorie des 89 kilos hommes
● Rick Confiance – 1 dans la catégorie des 73 kilos hommes
● Dereck Come – 1 dans la catégorie des 96 kilos hommes
● Hansel Bristol – 1 dans la catégorie des 109 kilos hommes
JUDO
□ 3 médailles – 3 de bronze
Les médaillés de bronze
● Nanteniana Finesse – 1 dans la catégorie des -91 kilos hommes
● Derick Croisé – 1 dans la catégorie des -81 kilos hommes
● Jean-Michel Vidot – 1 dans la catégorie des -60 kilos hommes
NATATION
□ 31 médailles – 11 en or, 10 en argent et 10 de bronze
Les médaillés d’or
● Felicity Passon : Sept (7) au total – 100m dos 1’03’’45 (nouveau record des Jeux), 50m papillon 28,06 secondes, 50m nage libre 26,21 seconds (nouveau record des Jeux), 50m dos 29,47 seconds (nouveau record des Jeux), 100m papillon 1’00’’69, 200m quatre nages 2’22’’22 (nouveau record des Jeux) et 200m dos 2’17’’35 (nouveau record des Jeux)
● Samuele Rossi : 50m brasse
● Mathieu Bachmann : 100m papillon
● Simon Bachmann : 1 500m nage libre
● Stephanie Mondon : 50m nage libre handisports intellectuelle
Les médaillés d’argent
● Felicity Passon : 100m nage libre 56,84 secondes
● L’équipe féminine du relais 4x100m nage libre composée de Felicity Passon, Sofie Frichot, Aaliyah Palestrini et Thérèse Soukup (4’01’’79)
● L’équipe féminine du relais 4x200m nage libre composée de Felicity Passon, Aaliyah Palestrini, Khema Elizabeth et Thérèse Soukup (8’38’’33)
● Simon Bachmann – 2 sur 400m quatre nages et 200m quatre nages
● Mathieu Bachmann – 3 sur 50m nage libre, 100m nage libre et 50m papillon
● Samuele Rose – 100m brasse
● Thérèse Soukup – 800m nage libre
Les médaillés de bronze
● L’équipe féminine du relais 4x100m quatre nage composée de Felicity Passon, Aaliyah Palestrini, Khema Elizabeth et Thérèse Soukup
● Thérèse Soukup – 3 sur 400m nage libre, 200m nage libre et 100m nage libre
● L’équipe masculine du relais 4x100m nage libre composée de Fred Tyler, Samuele Rosi, Mathieu Bachmann et Dean Hoffman
● L’équipe masculine du relais 4x200m nage libre composée de Dean Hoffman, Mathieu Bachmann, Simon Bachmann et Hayden Ah-Wan
● Simon Bachmann – 400m nage libre
● Janil Lucas – 50m nage libre handisports physique
● Mathieu Bachmann – 200m papillon
● L’équipe masculine du relais 4x100m quatre nage composée de Fred Tyler, Samuele Rosi, Mathieu Bachmann et Dean Hoffman
VOILE
□ 4 médailles – 1 en or, 1 en argent et 2 de bronze
Les médaillés d’or
● Alan Julie (Laser Standard hommes)
Les médaillés d’argent
● Rodney Govinden (Laser Standard hommes)
Les médaillés de bronze
● Paul Morel – (Laser Radial hommes)
● Dominique Labrosse – (Laser 4.7 hommes)
VOLLEYBALL
□ 2 médailles – 1 en or et 1 de bronze
Les médaillés d’or
● L’équipe féminine composée de Manuella Monthy, Petra Richard, Atilla Bonnelame, Catherina Simon, Nayeli Etienne, Belira Jacqueline, Maya Biong, Petrina Victor, Géneviève Nicette, Hillary Nourrice, Angelique Adeline et Vanita Rose
Les médaillés de bronze
● L’équipe masculine composée de Corey Toussaint, Adrian César, Darren Young, Hendrick Cathène, Jean-Paul Mellie, Jean-Philippe Vidot, Percy Riaze, Rodney Ah-Kong, Sam Dine, Sarel Léon, Shaine Farabeau et Sylvestre César.
Compiled by Roland Duval
