Nikki Crosby, the godmother of national gymnast Thema Williams, along with family and friends are planning a welcome reception for the national gymnast when she returns home tonight at 11.16 pm, in an effort to help the athlete recover from her ordeal.
The T&T Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) made a last minute decision to remove Williams from the Rio Olympics Test event on Saturday, eliminating her chances of qualifying for the Olympics in August. The Federation made the decision after reports from Williams’ coach John Geddert suggested that the gymnast was suffering with an ankle injury and had not shown enough progress during one of her training days.
The TTGF then sent Marisa Dick to the Test event, replacing Williams in the women’s artistic gymnastics competition. Williams’ mother Helen Adams along with attorneys led by Keith Scotland requested a teleconference with the TTGF on Sunday as they felt Williams was wrongly removed from the event. To date, the TTGF has not responded to the request for a teleconference. Calls to the phones of TTGF president David Marquez and the general secretary Elicia Peters went unanswered, while the second vice president Ricardo Lue Shue, was still in Brazil as Dick’s coach.
Dick, who is Canadian-born and based, earned enough points on Sunday and became the first T&T gymnast to qualify for the Olympic Games.