Sport Awards of the Year 2019 |31 January 2020
Top five young male and female finalists
Today is D-Day for local athletes with the official crowning ceremony of the best performers for 2019 scheduled to take place tonight at the NSC Multipurpose Hall, Roche Caïman.
Today, Sports NATION brings you the last group of contestants – the young male and female athletes.
Damien Laporte – Tennis
At 17 years of age, young local tennis sensation Damien Laporte left his prints on the South American soil in 2019, precisely at the International Tennis Federation’s J5 tournaments in South America where he won gold in both singles and doubles in Guatemala and Costa Rica.
He also won the boys’ doubles titles at the ITF International Tenis Federation’s 18 years and under circuits in Malaga and Barcelona.
Damien also reached the finals of the Iceland and Accra circuits.
Reigning Young Male athlete of the Year Laporte is also in the race to defend his title again this year.
Presently a member of the Academia Sánchez-Casal, an internationally known high-performance training centre in Barcelona, Spain, Damien is targeting the Junior Grand Slams qualifications in 2020.
Trevor Lespoir – Canoeing
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 in Egypt.
In the K2 1000m race, Lespoir finished third and he took the same position in the K2 200m race.
Damien Payet – Swimming
Very active in 2019, Damien Payet took part in many competitions both at local and international levels.
Locally, he competed in the National Open Championships where he won four gold medals and also at the National Age Groups Championships, winning three medals – two gold and a bronze.
Damien also took part in the second leg of the Marathon Swim World Series (MSWS) which took place at the Beau Vallon beach where he clocked 2 hours 20 minutes 15.8 seconds (2h20:15.8) to rank 38th overall.
He also competed in the fourth leg of the MSWS held in June in Balatonfured, Hungary where he finished in 47th overall position in 2h06:40.
At continental level, Damien was in action at the Junior All Africa Swimming Championship in Tunisia where he brought home a bronze medal.
Joshua Onezime – Athletics
The year 2019 proved to be a fruitful season for young high jumper Joshua Onezime as he brought home two medals from international competitions to add to his batch collected locally.
His first exploit was at the African Junior Championship for the Under-18 and the Under-20 held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in April where he won a silver medal after clearing the bar at 2.06m.
His second international medal was at the 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) held in Mauritius where he finished third, winning the bronze with a performance of 2.00m
Locally, he won the gold medals at the National Youth Championships and National Inter-Schools Athletics Championships, while at the Junior and Senior Championships he won silver medals.
Corry Toussaint – Volleyball
A member of the Neo Boys Volleyball Club, Corry Toussaint had a satisfactory season in 2019, getting two runners-up and a third-place finish during the season.
Neo Boys finished second in the Land Marine Cup and Seychelles Volleyball Federation (SVF) Cup competitions, while in the National League, the young selection finished third overall.
Corry was also part of the Seychelles men’s national selection at the 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) held in Mauritius where they won the bronze medal after finishing third.
Shakira Joubert – Athletics
Sprinter Shakira Joubert had an outstanding season in 2019, dominating the 100m and 200m in all local competitions.
In the National Junior and Senior Championship she won the 200m final in 25.99 seconds, while at the National Junior Championship she finished first in the 100m with a time of 12.1 seconds
During the National Championship, Joubert clocked 12.6 seconds to win the 100m final, while in the 200m final, her winning time was 26.03 seconds.
She was also in action at the National Inter-School Athletics Championships where she won the gold medals in 100m (12.25 seconds) and 200m (25.90 seconds).
At the 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) held in Mauritius she managed to reach the final of the 200m where she finished fifth overall.
Therese Soukup – swimming
In 2019, Therese Soukup’s biggest exploit was at the Confédération Africaine de Natation (Cana) Zone IV Swimming Championships which took place in Windhoek, Namibia where she won the 800m freestyle gold medal in 9 minutes 54.77 seconds (9:54.77).
She also brought home the 400m silver medal at the competition.
Therese also performed well at the 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) held in Mauritius and she brought home seven medals – three silver and four bronze – in both individual and relays.
Her silver medals were in the relay 4x100m freestyle (with Felicity Passon, Sofie Frichot and Aaliyah Palestrini), in the relay 4x200m freestyle (with Felicity Passon, Aaliyah Palestrini and Khema Elizabeth) and in the 800m freestyle.
As for her four bronze medals they were in the 4x100m medley relay (with Felicity Passon, Aaliyah Palestrini and Khema Elizabeth), 400m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 100m freestyle.
Murella Créa – Judo
A member of the Etoile Judo Club, Murella Créa who competes in the -57kg category, has known nothing but gold in 2019.
Her first piece of silverware came at the Curtain-raiser tournament in March. She clinched two more gold medals in two other local competitions, namely the Etoile Judo Club Tournament in October and the National Championships in December.
Internationally, Murella brought home the gold medal from the Grande Montagne Festival which took place in Rodrigues.
Joelita Koloma – Weightlifting
Iron girl Joelita Koloma had an excellent season in 2019, with good performances at local, regional and continental levels.
Locally, she dominated the 81kg weight category, winning the both the Open championships and National Championships.
At regional level, Koloma was part of Team Seychelles at the 10th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) held in Mauritius where she won three medals – a silver and two bronze.
She was also in action at continental level where she competed at the African Junior Weightlifting Championships in Kampala, Uganda. 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, winning three youth silver medals.
Being still a youth athlete, the result also earned Koloma three junior bronze medals.
Thara Michel – Karate
A member of the Northern Tang Soo Do club, young Thara Michel was a member of the team who took part in the World Tang Soo Do Association Region 11 European Championship held in the Netherlands in October, where she won three medals – one silver and two bronze.
She won her silver medal in sparring, while her two bronze came in the open hand hyung and hyung with weapon.
Roland Duval
