On The Line - Paralympians Nyoshia Cain & Akeem Stewart
Robert Dumas goes into the lives of Paralympians Nyoshia Cain & Akeem Stewart .
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 - This is our first time racing.
00:06 But if you think I'm gonna take it easy on you because...
00:10 - Because of what?
00:12 - Because you're a woman.
00:14 - I have a nice feeling you're going to embarrass
00:16 every man out there.
00:17 Set.
00:23 - False start.
00:25 (laughing)
00:29 (dramatic music)
00:31 - In every sport, there's a line.
00:34 All athletes put themselves on the line
00:39 for club and country.
00:41 (dramatic music)
00:45 (dramatic music)
00:48 (dramatic music)
00:50 (dramatic music)
00:53 (dramatic music)
00:56 (dramatic music)
00:59 (dramatic music)
01:02 (dramatic music)
01:06 (dramatic music)
01:12 - Nyosha's birth was quite a hard one.
01:24 Her afterbirth was aging and she wasn't growing.
01:28 She weighed 2.2 kg.
01:32 The veins behind her foot would not be growing.
01:35 So she will always be walking
01:38 like if she is a little ballerina.
01:41 (dramatic music)
01:54 - Get them back down faster.
01:56 - Coach. - How's it going man?
02:02 - Good man, I'm good.
02:03 Thank you for allowing me to be part of this today.
02:07 - Well you come looking like you're smiling.
02:09 It's not just, you're not just coming
02:10 to watch and spectate.
02:11 - What's some of the things we can expect today?
02:13 - All right, today we're just looking
02:14 to focus on fine tuning.
02:16 So we'll be doing a couple of starts
02:17 and because she has about 200 meters to run as well,
02:20 she'll be going over and running the turn
02:21 to get a little feel for the 150s.
02:23 So that's basically how the session is.
02:25 Today's not gonna be too long,
02:26 but it's gonna be a little more technical.
02:28 (dramatic music)
02:31 - So you did 335, I didn't see that.
02:50 Wait now, you made me get dressed and I hit a beat 335?
02:53 (dramatic music)
02:55 - Go on the line.
03:02 (dramatic music)
03:05 - Ready?
03:07 - Ready.
03:09 - Ready?
03:11 - Ready.
03:12 - Listening.
03:13 (dramatic music)
03:21 - On your marks, go on.
03:23 - That's, that's 478, that's almost five right there.
03:30 (laughing)
03:33 - What does that mean?
03:37 What context?
03:38 That's real slow?
03:39 Huh?
03:40 Real slow?
03:41 - Yes.
03:42 - Top class sprinters will run anywhere between,
03:44 top class sprinters who could start well,
03:46 anywhere between 120 something to 150 something.
03:50 Right, you've seen Bolt who's a slower starter
03:52 on a good day, he will give you a 140 something,
03:55 150 something, but 160 odd is where he averages.
03:58 - So basically what you're trying to say is,
03:59 I just limed at the blocks.
04:01 - Basically what I'm trying to say is slower than a turtle
04:04 with sand on his back, running molasses.
04:06 - Thanks coach.
04:07 You know, way to motivate.
04:08 Okay, need a rematch.
04:12 We're doing that once again.
04:13 It was the blocks, it was the blocks.
04:14 - Set.
04:16 - Go!
04:20 - What, what, what, what, what?
04:22 - It's always hard when you look back to see
04:24 where somebody is to realize that they're in front, right?
04:27 - I didn't stretch.
04:30 - Nyosha was very active at Movel Aventer Secondary School.
04:39 When she did CXC, she was one of the students
04:41 who was very successful.
04:43 She graduated with a full certificate,
04:46 and at Movel Aventer, that was a great achievement.
04:51 I saw something in Nyosha.
04:54 She was very active, despite her challenges,
04:57 that I kind of gravitated towards her and her spirit.
05:02 Some of the students will tease her about her foot.
05:05 That did not daunt her spirit.
05:08 - I used to call her name Swizz.
05:11 I used to say, "They're going to call you Happy.
05:14 "They are going to call you Happy,
05:16 "so I am going to call you Happy first,
05:19 "so that you'll get accustomed."
05:22 People would call you names.
05:23 When she go for P, that tear up her school skirt and stuff.
05:28 She had a hard time in Movel Aventer.
05:32 Very hard time.
05:33 And I felt that that was part of making her
05:40 the person that she is today,
05:43 because she wanted a transplant.
05:44 I said, "No, I went there, and nothing happened to me,
05:47 "so nothing will happen to you."
05:49 I'm very proud of her for the person that she is today.
05:53 Nyosha has been through a lot
05:57 as a child growing up in Lavont Hill.
06:01 (upbeat music)
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06:11 - So we made it up there.
06:33 - Yeah.
06:35 - I'm laughing because I've always seen it
06:38 from the bottom of the hill,
06:39 or coming into town, or leaving town,
06:42 and always wanted to come up here.
06:43 But the funny thing is that you've never been up here,
06:45 and you've lived in Lavont Hill for 20-something years.
06:49 - Yeah, but Lavont Hill is big, though.
06:52 And I've been an inside child,
06:54 so I don't know anything besides my street.
06:57 - And the open Bible church around the corner.
06:59 - Yes.
07:00 - And Movel Aventer School.
07:01 - Well, right, and the primary school
07:03 up in the back of the street.
07:05 And I don't know it anywhere.
07:06 - So you never piqued your interest to come up here?
07:09 - No.
07:10 - You don't have to explore anything.
07:12 - No, I don't explore.
07:14 - But the view is incredible, though.
07:15 - I think I can see my house.
07:17 - It's almost like a beacon when you come into Port of Spain.
07:22 You can see the statue there.
07:24 You're going to Rio, and I'm sure you're gonna wanna go
07:26 and see Christ the Redeemer.
07:27 You're gonna come back for the picture.
07:29 - I will, just for you, just for you.
07:30 - Correct, thank you.
07:31 - Yeah, just for you.
07:33 - Can you imagine the price of real estate
07:35 for this sort of view?
07:36 Queen's Park, Savannah.
07:38 - We're supposed to find somewhere.
07:41 The stadium.
07:42 - Stadium.
07:43 - There, there, see?
07:45 I know something.
07:45 - Four gold medals, a bronze in the World Championships.
07:59 I can't believe all this only started for you in 2014.
08:03 - Yeah, it started in 2014,
08:05 but actually I was running in secondary school,
08:08 well, and primary school as well.
08:10 But 2014 was when I actually started
08:13 the professional part of track and field.
08:15 It all started where I went to a miniature sports camp,
08:20 and I was a facilitator there in the UE camp.
08:23 And I just watch the children run,
08:26 and I was like, "Wait, I remember my days of running."
08:29 So I was like, "Okay, I wonder if I could run more."
08:33 And we did indeed started to run,
08:36 'cause it was the facilitators against the kids.
08:39 And I was like, "Yeah, boy,
08:41 "I think I still have a little thing, not too much."
08:44 So I spoke to the coach,
08:45 and I told the coach, I was like, "You know what?
08:47 "I think I'm coming to join your club in September."
08:50 And I went to the club,
08:53 but it was real hard.
08:56 So I did that for like, obviously up till New Year's Day.
09:00 And then after I was like, "You know what?
09:02 "I think this thing is not for me.
09:04 "It's not for me." - Like a pop-up.
09:06 - Yeah, so after that, I quit.
09:09 - So when did you get the ball?
09:10 - When I said I tried out for Paralympics.
09:14 I was training.
09:16 I didn't want to do it,
09:17 but just going through the motions there and again.
09:20 And in going through the motions,
09:23 they sent us to a meet in Mexico.
09:26 And after that meet, winning gold,
09:29 I was like, "Yeah, man, I think I have this though."
09:33 But then, I like, certain doubts came in,
09:36 'cause I switched coaches now.
09:38 So with him, remember I said I don't like the 300s?
09:42 That was the first test. - More 300s.
09:44 - More 300s.
09:45 Man, give me my 300 and stairs.
09:48 Well, here what?
09:49 I'll do the 300s, eh, but I'll never do the stairs.
09:51 He'll never catch me after that.
09:53 Can't catch me after that.
09:54 - Growing up, you were telling me that it wasn't easy.
09:59 - The name Colin, I can actually say it started home.
10:03 I would not say that they were preparing me,
10:07 but I mean, they probably think it was kicks,
10:10 you know, tip on your toe, hoppy.
10:13 I mean, I would guess it's home first,
10:15 but outside of the home, it went to school.
10:19 So primary school, people used to call me hop and drop,
10:23 hoppy, and I didn't really appreciate it as much,
10:28 because now I feel that I don't belong, I don't fit in.
10:32 And I used to try to fit in a lot,
10:33 like literally try my best to fit in
10:36 and act like a no average person.
10:39 And you know, that, I mean,
10:41 it took me as far as primary school,
10:43 but then you do an exam and you have to go into a new school.
10:46 I thought it's when I reached a new school,
10:48 all of that would have gone,
10:49 because none of your friends is going with you,
10:51 or nobody that you know going to the same school with you,
10:54 but then it got worse.
10:56 And, you know, so I just stuck to myself
10:59 and I was still involved in sports.
11:01 I was always an outgoing person in terms of sports
11:04 and, you know, do anything to better myself,
11:07 because I believe, you know, you only have one shot at life.
11:11 I would say it has to be the Lord that led me to track,
11:15 because even when I wanted to move away from it,
11:18 I still was led back to track.
11:21 So, you know, sometimes I say,
11:23 where, like in church they say,
11:26 if you run from something, the Lord call you to do,
11:29 he will always bring you back.
11:31 So, I mean, I tried to run from it,
11:34 and look, I come back and I see where, you know,
11:37 and I know for sure that I am supposed to be here.
11:40 So I think God has really directed me
11:43 for this part in life, and it is a successful part,
11:47 and once I can use my life to, you know,
11:50 even as a Christian, and let people see that there is a God,
11:55 and let him glorify himself through me,
11:58 and people will know, okay, well,
11:59 because she's serving this God,
12:01 she has made it thus far, because of obedience,
12:04 and if they too can follow whichever path
12:07 that he wants to take them, and they walk in obedience,
12:10 they too can see success.
12:11 (soft music)
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12:28 (upbeat music)
12:31 (upbeat music)
12:33 (upbeat music)
12:36 (upbeat music)
12:38 (upbeat music)
12:43 (upbeat music)
12:51 - I started the Troll Joggling from this very spot,
13:02 and I met Mr. Lucas.
13:04 Mr. Lucas came and saw me training,
13:06 and he told my dad I should start
13:09 take part in track and field meets.
13:10 The first competition was the primary school games,
13:12 where I took part in 1500,
13:14 I almost did almost all events in track and field,
13:17 because that time I was smaller at that moment.
13:20 And as I started to put on weight and had a good spirit,
13:24 my legs started to bend.
13:26 So I stick to short put, and discuss.
13:30 And from there I was classified as a para-athlete,
13:34 in 2014.
13:36 This is my home.
13:38 I started to live here at the age of 16 with my dad.
13:41 And I trained, do my home training,
13:43 my short put training right at the circle.
13:46 January in the year, I have a cricket tournament in Tobago,
13:50 and they always stop us from training.
13:52 So my dad, this was a lifetime investment for me.
13:55 And I train here, I broke the national record
13:57 from training home here, and here I am.
14:00 Hi people, this is my dad, Mr. Wayne Stewart.
14:04 - Good afternoon, dad.
14:05 - Hey man, what's up?
14:06 - Everything good?
14:07 - Yeah, boy, you know how long I've come to sit down here?
14:09 - Yeah, for real.
14:10 - We started off this game, I'm a tender age.
14:14 You know, I used to be a thrower.
14:16 Short put, discuss, and I used to play rugby.
14:19 Spent eight years on the national rugby team,
14:20 I was a soldier.
14:22 And with sports at heart,
14:24 I started to coach in the Falcons club.
14:27 The president called me, asked me if I could come
14:29 and help out.
14:32 And I could remember at a certain time,
14:34 one day in particular,
14:36 we went to the training area,
14:39 nobody came out.
14:42 So the president said, "Listen, what about your children?"
14:46 So I stood in there, I said, "Boy, they're little."
14:48 I said, "Yo, I'll go give them a chance, I'll try and see."
14:51 So we kick off, and we start to do a little thing
14:55 on the same area.
14:56 You know, we started to do a little session,
14:59 practice, do a little this, a little that.
15:02 And you know, the first javelin came from a mahogany tree
15:04 down in the back.
15:06 A mahogany tree from down in the back.
15:08 He came from school sports.
15:09 I say, "Hey, see that mahogany there?
15:12 "We gonna wet them."
15:14 So we organized, and then the victory,
15:16 the little performance started to come.
15:17 We had a little hiccup, you know?
15:20 But we continue to fight hard.
15:22 And you know something?
15:23 After church service, and we come back home,
15:26 my daughter would warm up the food.
15:29 And my both sons would come out here and just start,
15:32 run, jump, exercise, and they used to be sleeping in church.
15:36 But when they meet here, they come alive, 'til night.
15:39 I say, "Oh, look, come home!"
15:40 You know?
15:41 And we continue to struggle and fight the good fight,
15:45 and make sure I let him know it's no easy road.
15:47 I am very, very proud of my son.
15:50 You understand me?
15:51 You make me proud.
15:53 He's a fast person, I gave him my records to watch.
15:56 And he run past them very early, you know?
15:59 I feel happy.
16:00 So know that the generation coming,
16:02 coming stronger and better and brighter than my time.
16:06 And that is the purpose of being here,
16:08 to leave a legacy that one day,
16:11 we may have 10 and 15 men going to the Olympics
16:14 and to other games and in sports in general, you know?
16:16 For the nation to rise, to regain strength,
16:20 and to move forward in life, you know?
16:22 So this is really an honor.
16:23 I feel really, really, really happy.
16:26 You know, it's just that tears jumping in the back here,
16:28 but they're jumping until the joy come.
16:30 You got joy around the corner, eh?
16:32 The bigger joy.
16:34 So it's like one love.
16:35 (laughs)
16:36 I feel very proud.
16:37 I feel like it's me, man.
16:39 You see it in the spine.
16:41 I'm a blood dad.
16:42 I usually come here in my free times
16:51 and fish to relax my mind with my friends,
16:53 my training friends.
16:54 Hakim is a very motivative experience
16:57 because he actually pushes all of the training athletes
17:00 and them to do their best and just to perform
17:03 and just have fun.
17:04 Actually, training with my distances,
17:06 it actually helps him to improve in his distances.
17:09 So there's a bit of rivalry going on right there,
17:11 but I mean, it's all about the fun
17:13 and that is what we really come here to do.
17:15 And as chores, we actually try to come together as one
17:19 and just keep motivating each other.
17:21 (upbeat music)
17:24 - Good to see you, man.
17:38 - Good to see you.
17:39 - Good to see you again.
17:40 - Good to see you again, man.
17:40 - Thanks for showing us around your community.
17:44 And I know we discussed training today,
17:47 but I had a lot of thoughts about it.
17:50 Triple champion, the sun's hot.
17:54 - Yeah.
17:55 - It's, you know, I think what I'd really appreciate
17:57 if we do today, we just kind of go over some of the basics,
18:00 show me, show some of the moves,
18:02 then I can see what distance you throw
18:04 and I just try to beat that.
18:05 - Yeah, that's no problem.
18:06 - Right, so if you throw 70,
18:06 I'll try and hit the scoreboard.
18:08 - Yeah, nice try.
18:09 - All right? - That'd be a nice try.
18:10 - So just one motion.
18:11 - Yeah.
18:12 All right, you release it from the index finger.
18:18 From the index.
18:19 - And then I change backhand.
18:20 - So you have met a disadvantage then.
18:23 - Man, I usually exploit, I didn't know this.
18:26 (laughing)
18:28 - So a ritual you do beforehand,
18:36 psyching anybody out.
18:38 - Yeah, we're tough, you know.
18:39 That's to clap, raise the crown,
18:42 around the crown and yeah, that's about it.
18:44 You hear the clap?
18:46 You hear the clap?
18:47 You can't show.
18:48 - Good try, good try.
18:56 - Good try.
18:58 - Hello!
18:59 (laughing)
19:00 - Really is hard.
19:01 And you do the short foot as well.
19:04 - Yeah.
19:05 - And javelin.
19:06 - Yeah.
19:07 - It's really, really hard.
19:08 A lot of respect for you guys.
19:09 Is there a difference between the one
19:11 that Paralympians throw and the Olympians throw?
19:14 Is there any difference?
19:14 - No, based on the impairment,
19:16 it's a different way to discuss.
19:18 Athlete with lower limb deficiency throw a 1.5
19:21 and for instance, a blind athlete will throw a two kilogram
19:26 because he only have sight.
19:27 - Right.
19:28 - The people with lower limb deficiency have balance.
19:30 Yeah, so 1.5, 2K for blind athletes.
19:34 - And then you also telling me about glide and rotate.
19:38 - Yeah.
19:39 - Which is, yours is clearly the rotate.
19:42 You prefer the rotate.
19:43 - Yeah.
19:43 - Whereas Cleo would do a glide.
19:44 - Yeah.
19:45 - What's the, is there an advantage or disadvantage?
19:47 - Well, glide, a glide throw will be more consistent
19:50 in the competition, staying in circle.
19:52 A rotational throw will have longer throw
19:54 but it's harder to stay in circle.
19:56 So we're taking a little chance.
19:58 - So tell me something, before we throw again,
20:01 what's it like, what's it like being triple champion?
20:04 I mean, javelin, short foot and disc guard.
20:07 - Being a triple world record holder is a nice feeling.
20:10 - So why is disc guard your favorite though?
20:11 - Well, disc guard is the, for me,
20:13 the easiest event for me right now
20:14 because short foot are to be strenuous on the knee
20:17 'cause you have to move faster.
20:18 But disc guard, I just take that for a while
20:20 and next year I go bunks back after off season.
20:23 So the past four years I haven't had a good off season
20:25 because I compete right on the year
20:27 with entries and with IRM TTPC.
20:30 - What a lot of people don't know is you have a world record.
20:33 - Yeah, I have the F43 world record,
20:35 which is 63.03, the previous record of 46 meters.
20:40 So I break it by a lot of distance.
20:43 - And that's very close to the Olympics, Olympic record.
20:47 - No, very close to the F44 record,
20:51 but I wouldn't be able to get the F44 record.
20:54 - So you're the first Toronto Big Onion Parapan champion.
20:59 And you could be possibly the first world record holder
21:03 and you could possibly be the first field athlete
21:06 to make that transition in the world.
21:08 - Yes, that's true.
21:09 And also the first world champion.
21:10 - 'Cause Pistorius did it for the track,
21:11 but you can do it for field.
21:12 - Yeah.
21:13 - So that's the aim for you.
21:15 So in 2006, you started this Rory Javelin.
21:17 - Yes, that's right.
21:18 - What prompted you to get into javelin in the first place?
21:21 - Well, javelin was the lightest field event for me
21:23 because I was young.
21:24 So I tried javelin on it.
21:25 It definitely wasn't the event for me.
21:28 - And was that because of the disability or that's just?
21:31 - No, that was just because it was the lightest implement.
21:34 So I gravitated to that.
21:36 - So going to the Paralympics, you're in the F43 category.
21:39 What is that category?
21:41 - That is athletes with a lower limb deficiency
21:43 with bowleg or whatever.
21:45 - Were you ever ridiculed as a child growing up?
21:48 Did you ever experience any,
21:49 did they call you any names?
21:50 'Cause you're a big guy as well.
21:51 I mean, I wouldn't say anything,
21:52 even if I wanted to, which I don't.
21:54 - In secondary school or primary school,
21:56 I used to play football for fun.
21:57 I was a goalkeeper.
21:58 So in secondary school, I had a nickname of Big Fish.
22:01 - Big Fish, why Big Fish?
22:03 - Because I dive in a puddle of water, you know,
22:06 to save a ball.
22:07 So that's how I get that name.
22:08 But other than that, no, no, but never ridiculed me.
22:11 - And it doesn't stop you at all.
22:13 I mean, like we were just, we were talking about.
22:16 - All the negative energies, they're like motivation to me.
22:19 I use that as my motivation and it really working.
22:21 So no need to stop.
22:24 - And you want to meet the crossover to the Olympics.
22:27 And as we discussed, be the first.
22:28 - Yeah, hopefully.
22:29 Well, I'm starting off with the world championship next year.
22:32 I'll be the first athlete,
22:33 if I qualify for world champs next year.
22:35 So I'm using world championship as my stepping stone
22:37 and then Tokyo as the real deal.
22:40 - Well, Hakim, thank you so much for letting me train with you.
22:52 I know you're going to do great things in Rio.
22:53 - Thanks a lot, man.
22:54 - But just before Rio, I think I'm going to out throw you.
22:59 - All right, let's go.
23:01 - So on three, right?
23:01 - Yeah.
23:02 - Three turns.
23:03 - Yeah.
23:04 - Not two, three turns.
23:06 - Three turns.
23:07 - Ready?
23:11 One.
23:12 Two.
23:15 Three.
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23:36 ♪ Give it all away ♪
23:39 ♪ Catch it ♪