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AFTER completing another arduous 26-2 mile trek, former president of the TT Olympic Committee (TTOC) Brian Lewis said he continues to do it for the betterment of TT athletes, by raising money for the TTOC's Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund.
Lewis said that without support national athletes will not maximise their potential.
For the past ten years, Lewis has done the walk along with athletes, sports administrators and members of corporate TT. The walk is done to raise awareness that financial backing is required.
Yesterday, TTOC president Diane Henderson; former TT boxer Ria Ramnarine; journalist Andre Errol Baptiste; Republic Bank president and CEO Nigel Baptiste; Denise Williams-Blackman and Bertram Blackman (parents of TT junior swimmer Nikoli Blackman); and a team from First Citizens including group deputy CEO – business generation Jason Julien, Neela Kissoon, Larry Olton and Trudy Louison all supported the cause.
The walk, which started at 2 am, took the participants from Freeport to The Harvard Club in St James. Lewis completed the journey in seven hours and 25 minutes. He has stayed committed to the cause as he trained for months leading up to the event.
After finishing on Sunday, Lewis was asked why he keeps taking on such a tedious task. He told Newsday, "The vision and the purpose of the foundation, which is to support the youth, the young people and the athletes who aspire to win Olympic gold medals."
Lewis said in developed countries athletes have all the assistance they could ask for, so he wants to gather as much support as possible for local athletes to give them a chance to be competitive.
Athletes dedicate years of their life to reaching the pinnacle of sport, said Lewis. "Most of our athletes who aspire to be at a high level (need the help). Remember they dedicate most of their lives to this and there is no fall back position for them, so they make a lot of sacrifices. To allow their talent and potential to be maximised, they don't need just one source of funding but a number of sources.
"It is about a commitment and a dedication to something bigger than yourself."
Lewis said a maxi followed the walkers. "One of the features is that we provided a bus, so if you felt that you did not feel (well) at any point in time you were able to make the entire distance or you needed a rest, you could have gone in the bus and rest and come back out."
[caption id="attachment_1058421" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Denise Williams-Blackman, left, and Bertram Blackman after completing the walk yesterday. The Blackman's are the parents of TT junior swimmer Nikoli Blackman. Also in the photo is their friend Satie Millington. -[/caption]
Henderson, who completed the trek in six hours and 18 minutes, said, "I was extremely happy that I was able to participate and be a part of the team today in its tenth year."
The Athlete Welfare and Preparation walk and the TT International Marathon are normally held on the same morning. With the marathon being held in March this year, Henderson was able to support the cause.
She said, "It is very important to understand their needs because athletes preparation takes a lot and a lot of them don't have the financial support, and this would help them maximise those efforts, so it is quite important."
Henderson thanked all those who came out. "Today we got a good turnout, maybe because the marathon was postponed and therefore a lot of people realised they could come out and support the cause...thankful and grateful for that."
Over 70 people registered to participate in the walk.
 
The post All for the athletes: Lewis completes 10 years of fund-raising walk appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.