Sports Awards of the Year 2004-Male finalists speak out |28 January 2005

Mervin Loizeau – athletics

CHOSEN for the first time as male athlete of the year, sprinter Mervin Loizeau is happy to feature among the 10 finalists.
On the back of a strong 2004 season when he won 100m gold medals in the Commission de la Jeunesse et des Sports de l’Océan indien (CJSOI) competition in Reunion and the Lekip Sports Cadets Athletics Championship in Mauritius, Loizeau was the first male athlete in a long time to dip below 11 seconds in the blue-ribband 100m sprint, clocking 10.94 seconds during the IAAF World Youth Athletics Championship in Grosseto, Italy.
He has said that he is looking forward for tonight’s crowning ceremony.
“Reaching the final is already a big achievement for me as I had a strong feeling that I could reach this far in the running for the Sportsman of the Year title. I’ll wait and see who wins and if I can finish in the top five,” said the 17-year-old.
At the CJSOI competition, Loizeau also teamed up with Nelson Renaud, Danny D’Souza and Marcus Labrosse to win the 4 x 100m relay gold medal and break the youth (under 18 years old) record with a new time of 42.86 seconds.
Loizeau, the country’s new male sprint star, also improved records over 150m (16.6 seconds) 100m (10.7 seconds {manual} and 10.94 seconds {electronic}), 200m (22.12 seconds {electronic} wind assisted, 22.3 seconds {manual}) and 60m (6,8 seconds {manual} in February).

James Beier – basketball

In 2004, James Beier won almost everything on the court with his team Premium Cobras. After a rather slow start and losses to rivals PLS Hawks in the Curtain-raiser competition and Charity Cup, Beier and Premium Cobras woke up from their slumber to win the Men division 1A League championship for a second consecutive year. They put the icing on the cake with the SBF Cup and the Independence Cup.
Beier also played an important role in helping Premium Cobras win their own international competition.
“It’s very unlikely that I will win the Sportsman of the Year title. Other athletes performed better than me in 2004, but I’m happy to have featured among the 10 finalists,” said stylish Seychelles centre Beier who at times played as a small forward and did not hesitate to step behind the 3-point arc to knock down treys.
It is the second consecutive year that Beier is chosen as the male basketballer of the year.

Kitson Julie – boxing

THE 2004 season might very well mark Kitson Julie for years. During the 15th African Boxing Championship in Gaborone, Botswana, boxer Julie delivered killer punches to pave his way on to the highest step of the podium and win the light welterweight (64-kg) gold medal.
Not even his uncles Roland Raforme and Basil Boniface, Rival Cadeau (now Payet), Jerry Legras, Remy Zialor or Michael Pillay, some of the country’s best boxers since the late 1970s, achieved such a feat.
The gold medal earned Julie automatic qualification for the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, only to lose 22-51 to Iranian-born Australian Anoushirvan Nourian in his first fight.
Chosen as the country’s best boxer for the first time in 2001, Julie, 21, prefers to wait for the night of the crowning to know who’s going to win.
“I’m happy to be in the final and I expected it to be like this. As for who’s going to be crowned Sportsman of the Year, I’ll wait and see. Everything’s in the hands of the selection committee,” said Julie, who also won a silver medal in a competition in Niger in preparation for the Olympics

Tony Lespoir – canoeing

IN 2004, paddler Tony Lespoir ventured into the Olympic Games after receiving a wild card and he made a big impression on his debut.
Lespoir made history for the sport of canoeing, which was making its first participation for Seychelles in the Olympiad, by reaching the semifinal of the 500m K1 flatwater race. Paddling in heat number four of the qualifiers, Lespoir clocked 2 minutes 02.669 seconds to progress to the second semifinal where he stopped the clock at 2:04.975 for last place in lane nine.
The 27-year-old, who also participated in the European Championship, was placed ninth out of as many athletes in heat number one of the K1 1,000m flatwater race with a time of 4:17.128 in Athens.
A nine-time canoeist of the year since 1996, Lespoir has chosen to stay modest in his comments.
“I won’t say much, but I think I have a good chance of featuring among the top five,” said the canoeist.

Hudson Mathieu – cycling

A four-time runner-up to Sportsman of the Year Benjamin Lo-Pinto in 1999, Sportsman of the Year Allan Julie in 2000 and 2001 and Sportsman of the Year Steven Baccus in 2003, cyclist Hudson Mathieu benefited from an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship in 2004 and trained at the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland.
Despite failing to qualify for the Olympic Games, Mathieu achieved other good results locally and at regional level.
He won a record seventh National Championship in eight years, finished as runner-up to Belgian Sébastien Matozza in the annual Tour des Seychelles with two stage wins.
In the Tour de Maurice, he was fifth overall and won the green jersey for the most points accumulated on sprints.
The four-time young male athlete of the year (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999), it is to note, finished third overall in 2002 and fifth in 1998.
The 23-year-old sprint specialist has said that he always dreams of winning the Sportsman of the Year to emulate his brother, boxer Jerry Legras.
“All will depend on the judges. I’ve never won the Sportsman of the Year title, but I’ve come so close on many occasions. I feel that I will win it one day but I don’t know when. I’ve featured among the top five since 1998 and this proves that I’ve been a consistent performer over the years,” said Mathieu.

Jossy Canaya – karate

HE was chosen among the 10 finalists in 2000, but did not feature in the top five. This time, karateka Jossy Canaya believes the Sportsman of the Year title will be his tonight.
“I’m a 100% sure of winning. My results speak volume. They are more impressive that those registered by other nine finalists,” said 40-year-old Canaya.
In 2004, Canaya, a 25-year veteran in the sport of karate, finished second in the kata competition of the National Championship.
He then participated in the World Tang Soo Do Championship in the USA and won the silver medal in the kata competition.
The third dan black belt karateka won the gold medal of the kata competition and bronze in the kata with weapon at the African Tang Soo Do Championship in Maputo, Mozambique.

Allan Julie – sailing

A three-time Sportsman of the Year in 2000, 2001 and 2002, Laser sailor Allan Julie isn’t talking about reclaiming the title he lost to weightlifter Steven Baccus in 2003.
“I’m sure of finishing in the top five. But I won’t predict the winner of the Sportsman of the Year title. I’m still a bit bitter about the last time as I sincerely believe I should have won the title a fourth time. The final decision rests with the selection committee and I’ll just wait to see its choice,” said the 27-year-old.
In 2004, Julie did not participate in local competitions but competed on par with the world’s best internationally.
At the Olympic Games, his third in a row, Julie, who had top-five finishes in at least four races, was placed 20th out of 42 sailors in the single-handed dinghy Laser class.
In Europe, the 10-time sailor of the year (since 1995), was 12th out of 76 participants in the Spa Regatta, 11th out of 174 participants in the Kieler Woche Regatta, 11th out of 111 participants in the Warnemunde Week Regatta, 29th out of 97 participants in the European Championship, 23rd out of 58 participants in the Princess Sofia Trophy, 29th out of 83 participants in the Athens Eurolymp, 33rd out of 159 participants in the Semaine Olympique Française and 37th out of 145 participants in the World Championship.
In December, Julie participated in the Al-Kharafi International Laser Optimist Open Regatta in Kuwait and won a bronze medal.
Besides being a Laser sailor, Julie loves windsurfing and he was placed second behind winner Stephen Stravens in the annual Mahe-Parslin crossing.

Ian Furneau –volleyball

BEAU VALLON were slow off the blocks in 2004, losing the Curtain-raiser competition and the SVF Shield. They were also third in the Indian Ocean Club Championship (IOCC) in Mauritius.
But once the machine got started, it was no stopping them. They won the First Division League championship and the SVF Cup. In December at the Palais des Sports, Beau Vallon proved how good a team they are by overpowering all their opponents on 3-0 scores to win the IOCC trophy, their fourth.
Lanky main attacker Ian Furneau was instrumental in Beau Vallon’s IOCC triumph and he was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and best attacker.
“I don’t know what to say. I’ll just wait and see what happens. Some good performances especially in individual sports were registered in 2004 and it’s difficult to make an early judgement, “said the 23-year-old attacker

Richard Scheer –weightlifting

After making his debut for Seychelles in 2003 and earning a place in the top 10, Richard Scheer again made the headlines in 2004 to be chosen as the country’s best male lifter.
He won the 85-kg category snatch gold medal of the African Weightlifting Championship with a best lift of 150kg and was invited at the last minute to participate in the Olympic Games in Athens Greece.
Based in France, Scheer, 30, finished 12th out of 21 lifters in Athens with an Olympic total of 305kg -140kg in the snatch and 165kg in the clean and jerk – in the 85-kg division.

Steven Baccus – weightlifting

OUTGOING Sportsman of the Year Steven Baccus was hampered by nagging knee injuries in 2004 and this prevented him from achieving good results and participating in competitions as he would have liked.
Runner-up to Sportsman of the Year Allan Julie in 2002, fire-fighter Baccus, 27, won two bronze medals in the clean and jerk with 180kg and Olympic total of 327.5kkg at the African Weightlifting Championship. He also snatched 147.5kg in the 94-kg category.
The five-time weightlifter of the year - 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2003 - could not be reached for his comments.

Compiled by G. G.