The 59th edition of the annual gala event was titled A Journey Beyond Hope.

The ten finalists for the men’s and women’s awards were – Nicholas Paul (cycling), Tyra Gittens (athletics), Andrew Lewis (sailing), Samantha Wallace (netball), Jereem Richards (athletics), Teniel Campbell (cycling), Nigel Paul (boxing), Felice Aisha Chow (rowing), Dylan Carter (swimming), and Kennya Cordner (football).

Paul, 23, placed sixth and 12th in the men’s sprint and keirin respectively in his efforts to capture T&T’s first world medal in some three decades.

He pedalled to a silver medal in the 1km time trial at the UCI Track World Championships in Roubaix, France, last October, when he clocked 59.269 seconds to finish 0.523 seconds behind Dutchman Jeffrey Hoogland.

This followed his three gold medals at the UCI Nations Cup in Cali, Colombia, in the 1km time trial, keirin and sprint events. He also earned a silver medal in the sprint at the UCI Track Champions League event in Panevezys, Lithuania.

Meanwhile, Gittens, 23, lifted her first Sportswoman of the year honours. She was outstanding for Texas A&M University in the NCAA Track and Field Championships and then made it to the finals of the women’s long jump at the Tokyo2020 Games to finish in tenth place.

Among her collegiate highlights was the pentathlon title she captured at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas with 4,746 points and the heptathlon crown claimed at the NCAA Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, with 6,285 points.

In the Youth category, swimmer Nikoli Blackman followed up his 2020 achievement by being crowed the 2021 Youth Sportsman of The Year, for the second time in a row, while tennis player Jordane Dookie was named Youth Sportswoman of the Year. Both were among eight finalists that were shortlisted for the top awards.