First Citizens Awards

Track athlete Jereem Richards and cricketer Karishma Ramharack captured the 2024 First Citizens Sports Foundation “Sportsman of the Year” and “Sportswoman of the Year” at the national sports awards function that was held at the Hyatt Regency, Trinidad, recently.

Richards claimed his fourth accolade by adding to his previous wins in 2017, 2018, and 2022. It was Ramharack’s first time on the women’s award and the first for the sport of cricket since former West Indies batsman Brian Lara won the last of his awards in 2005.

At the Paris Olympic Games, Richards was a fourth-placed finisher in the men’s 400 meters final, ending with a T&T national record time of 43.78 seconds, behind the USA’s gold medallist Quincy Hall (43.40), runner-up Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain (43.44) and Zambian third place finisher Muzala Samukonga (43.74).

Richards can also proudly look back on a semifinal performance at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, third-place finishes at the Diamond League meetings in London (44.18) and Rome (44.55), and a 200m win (20.19) in Lucerne on the Continental Tour’s silver level.

Right-arm off-spinner Ramharack stepped into the spotlight following Annisa Mohammed’s retirement at the start of 2024, and she reveled in a series of stand-out displays over the year.

At the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in the UAE, Ramharack helped West Indies to the semifinals by taking six wickets at an average of 13.83.

Her best performance came against Bangladesh, where she claimed four wickets for 17 runs, leading to an eight-wicket victory and the “Player of the Match” prize.

Ramharack was also outstanding during the One-Day International series in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. During the former contest, she took four wickets, including a three-for-48 act in a two-wicket triumph at Karachi; the latter showdown again involved four wickets, with two for 29 captured in the second game at Hambantota.

Saturday’s function also saw the 2025 Hall of Fame Induction of former cricketer Samuel Badree and former track and field athlete Wendell Williams, now a coach.

With the theme “The Power of Perseverance,” the awards showcased the resilience, determination, and unyielding spirit of athletes who triumphed over challenges to achieve greatness.

Chairman of First Citizens, Anthony Isidore Smart, said,  “At First Citizens, we are proud to stand steadfastly behind the work of the First Citizens Sports Foundation, honoring the past, supporting the present, and equipping the future of the sport.”

“Success demands preparation, hard work, and often, patience, and in those times, we persevere.”

Smart urged those present as partners in sport: “Let us all resolve to identify how we can serve sports better and endeavor to consistently do so.”

David Roberts, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Sport and Community Development of Trinidad and Tobago, congratulated the awardees and thanked them for their outstanding representation of the red, white, and black on the global stage.