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Adel Colthrust

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Jereem designs tribute to T&T athletes

Go Back : Express : Kwame Laurence : 09.09.2020

Jereem "The Dream" Richards is making productive use of the downtime created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I have been working on a project called Athletic Excellence Trading Cards," Richards told the Express.

The 2017 IAAF World Championship men's 200 metres bronze medallist is talented off the track as well, designing attractive cards with digital cartoon character images of Trinidad and Tobago's best athletes - past and present. The cards also feature the achievements of the athletes as well as their best times or distances.

"My goal is to educate the people of Trinidad and Tobago about the athletes that represent us in various sporting disciplines. By doing this, we can help promote sport in Trinidad and Tobago, increasing public awareness of the country's excellence on the global stage.

"I am not only focusing on the performers of today," Richards continued, "but also on those who have carried the flag in years gone by. I see this as an important learning tool for school children, as well as current athletes. An appreciation of those who have gone before us is crucial in catching a vision for excellence in the global sporting arena."

Richards explained the Athletic Excellence Trading Card concept.

"So basically, the cards are collectibles, with achievement, personal best and events on each person. I'm planning to sell them in packs. They will be ready when physical copies are made so people can acquire them. I'm still working on a release date but I'm trying to get it done by the end of the year. I currently have 80 cards ready, but there are a few character profile cards that I still need to add.

"I want to help solidify the history of Trinidad and Tobago athletics, not just track and field but I hope to expand to every single sport. I want to make sure the younger generation would always know who the athletes are, what they have done and what they have achieved. Hopefully, this will motivate younger athletes to achieve the same or even go past what athletes have done before."

Richards said he is a self-taught digital artist.

"I've always liked art and drawing. But I always wanted to know how to do digital art so I bought an iPad and downloaded an app called Procreate. I had to learn how to use it from videos on YouTube, and this enabled me to expand my knowledge and be more creative on a digital platform.

"I'm very open to career options after track and field, but as of now it's just a hobby and something I wanted to do to give back to sport in Trinidad and Tobago."

The Athletic Excellence Trading Cards are being designed in three categories - gold, silver and bronze - based on level of achievement.

The gold card list includes Olympic champions Hasely Crawford and Keshorn Walcott, IAAF World Championship gold medallists Ato Boldon and Jehue Gordon, triple Olympic medallist Richard "Torpedo" Thompson, global para star Akeem Stewart, 2018 Commonwealth Games women's 100m gold medallist Michelle-Lee Ahye, and Richards himself. Richards is the reigning Commonwealth Games men's 200m champion.

Richards and Gordon are part of a four-man team that launched a new online series, "Athlete Talks" in May. Retired national athletes, Jamaal James and Zwede Hewitt are the other two visionaries behind the successful show. To date, there have been nine instalments of "Athlete Talks", the most popular one being the Sprint Legend Edition featuring Boldon. More than 10,000 viewers logged in to hear from the quadruple Olympic medallist.

Card of Honour
Janeil Bellille
Card of Honour
Keshorn Walcott