Sports Awards of the Year 2006-Male finalists speak…. |26 January 2007

Georgie Cupidon – badminton

The country’s number one male player, Georgie Cupidon won all the local singles competitions in 2006 and joined forces with Juliette Ah-Wan to win the mixed doubles gold medal of the African Senior Badminton Championship in Algeria. He also won the men’s doubles bronze medal with partner Steve Malcouzane and the team event bronze medal.

During the Mauritius Open, 25-year-old Cupidon, who participated in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, grabbed the mixed doubles silver medal alongside Ah-Wan and formed part of the Seychelles team who won the bronze medal in the Thomas & Uber Cups in Mauritius.

“Many people have been saying that it’s either Tony Lespoir or me who is to win the Sportsman of the Year title. I know that I performed well in 2006, but it’s the selection committee’s job to decide the winner,” Cupidon told Sports Nation.

Fabien Antat – bodybuilding

FLEX poser Fabien Antat successfully achieved his goal of being ranked in the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) 85-kg category in the 60th edition of the World Amateur Bodybuilding Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in 2006.

With his chiseled body, the former swimmer won both local competitions – Mr Regatta and Mr Seychelles – organised by the Seychelles Amateur Bodybuilding Association last year.

All attempts by Sports Nation to reach Antat for his impressions were unsuccessful as he did not answer his telephone.

Patrick Camille – boxing

HARD HITTER Patrick Camille won the country’s only gold medal at the Inter-Cities Boxing Tournament in Nairobi, Kenya, climbing onto the first notch of the super heavyweight (+91-kg) title ladder with a convincing 13-5 win against Kenyan Idris Adhir.

Boasting eight years experience in boxing, Camille, 22, was a quarterfinalist at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia and reached the semifinal of both the Egypt International Tournament and the inaugural African Nations Cup in Gabon.
“I’m not expecting to win the Sportsman of the Year title because other athletes have performed better than me. I’ll be happy with a top-five finish,” said Camille.

Tony Lespoir – canoeing

UNBEATEN in local competitions, canoeist Tony Lespoir made his experience count as he paddled his way to winning four gold medals at the inaugural edition of the East and Central Africa Rowing Cano-Kayak Championship in Kenya. Lespoir won with ease all four K1 events he participated in – the 200m (in 45.55 seconds), 500m (2 minutes 06.05 seconds), 1km (4 minutes 28.79 seconds) and 5km (26 minutes 55.18 seconds).

An 11-time canoeist of the year, globetrotter Lespoir, 30, participated in the World Cup series in Poznan, Poland (200m – 8th out of 9 participants, 1,000m  –  9th out of 9 participants and 500m  –  9th out of 9 participants), in the International Canoe Regatta in Duisburg, Germany (500m  –  9th out of 9 participants and 1,000m  –  8th out of 8 participants), and the Flatwater Racing World Championship in Szeged, Hungary (200m  –  7th out of 9 participants and 500m  –  8th out of 9 participants).

Fourth overall in 2004 and 2005, Lespoir believes that he will hoist the Sportsman of the Year title tonight.
“I performed well in 2006 and I deserve to win the title. I see myself as the favourite,” said the 11-time canoeist of the year.

Hedson Mathieu – cycling

WITH a cumulative time of 12h34:42, Hedson Mathieu finished fifth overall in the final ranking at the 25th edition of the Tour de Maurice and took third place in the 14th Tour des Seychelles with 10h40:23. The 25-year-old also won the Tour des Seychelles’ rainbow jersey (for most points scored).

Winner of a fourth successive National Championship title and his ninth in 10 years, Mathieu followed a training camp in Charleroi, Belgium, in 2006 and competed in some races, registering encouraging results.

A four-time runner-up to Benjamin Lo-Pinto in 1999, Allan Julie in 2000 and 2001 and Steven Baccus in 2003, Mathieu did not want to make a prediction as to who would be crowned Sportsman of the Year.

“I had a pretty good season in 2006 and it’s the selection committee’s job to decide who should be crowned the best,” said Mathieu.

A four-time Young Male Athlete of the Year in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, Mathieu finished third overall in 2002 and 2005, and fifth in 1998. The 25-year-old did not finish among the top-five in 2004.

Wilnes Brutus – football

KNOWN for his burst of speed, good control and ability to score important goals, Wilnes Brutus was instrumental in guiding Red Star to winning the Airtel Cup in 2006. He also played a part in helping Red Star reach the Land Marine Cup final which they lost to neighbors St Michel.

At international level, Brutus scored four times for The Pirates of Seychelles in 2006. He got one goal in the 2-1 win against Tanzania in the Tri-Nation Tournament, one against Namibia whom The Pirates eliminated on a penalty shootout in the Cosafa Castle Cup and two against Club M of Mauritius in a 2-1 victory at Stad Linite in an African Nations Cup 2008 qualifier.
Brutus could not be reached for his impressions.

Roland Renaud – petanque

ROLAND Renaud was ranked 10th worldwide after his good performance in the shooting competition of the World Championship in Grenoble, France. He also did well in the Triplette competition (39th out of 57 countries) and Nations Cup triplette competition (14th out of 41 countries). In the Indian Ocean competition, he was first in the men’s triplette and mixed triplette tournaments. He took second place in the doublette tournament.

Locally, he won six competitions – League triplette, La Digue doublette, League doublette, Tête-à-tête singles, Mixed doublette and Shooting (singles). In the open doublette tournament, he finished fifth overall.
“I believe I’m going to feature among the top five. Getting a top-10 finish worldwide in the shooting competition is a big achievement. I also played well in the other competitions,” said Renaud who has been playing petanque since 1996.

Allan Julie – sailing

FIVE-TIME Sportsman of the Year Allan Julie needs no introduction. The 28-year-old Laser sailor participated in a number of international competitions in the single-handed dinghy Laser class worldwide in 2006 – Olympic Test event (32nd out of 36 participants, Laser European Cup (86th out of 136 participants), ISAF World Sailing Games (60th out of 74 participants), Al Maktoum Regatta (2nd out of 13 competitors), Laser World Championship (32nd out of 129 competitors), Kieler Woche Regatta (54th out of 71 competitors) and Warmemunder Woche Regatta (17th out of 60 participants). Locally, he competed in the Formula windsurfing National Championship, finishing third out of 18 participants.

With his five wins – the highest for any local athlete – coming in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005, Julie, who settled for third place in 2003, was unavailable for comments as he is out of the country.

Steven Mangroo – swimming

YOUNG swimmer Steven Mangroo won three gold medals in the 400m freestyle (4:16.46, a Seychelles record), 50m butterfly (28.24 seconds, personal best), 200m freestyle (2:03.21) and 100m butterfly (1:02.17, personal best) at the Anoca zone 7 Games in 2006. He also won three silver medals in the 100m freestyle, 50m freestyle and 4 x 100 individual medley relay at these same Games.

The 18-year-old competed in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne Australia, the 8th World Short Course Championship in China and the Senior African Swimming Championship in Dakar, Senegal.
Locally, he participated in the Sacos-sponsored National Open Championship, winning six medals – four gold and two silver.
Fifth overall in 2005, Mangroo, winner of the Young Male Athlete of the Year title twice (in 2003 and 2005), is again expecting to feature among the top five.
“I’m hoping to get a top-five finish, but I’m not too sure about it,” he said.

Ian Furneau  – volleyball

DIFFICULT to contain at the net, Ian Furneau had a very good 2006 season with Beau Vallon whom he helped reclaim the Men’s Division One League championship title. He also won the inaugural Land Marine Division One Cup, the Seychelles Volleyball Federation (SVF) Shield and the Curtain-raiser competition with Beau Vallon.

He missed out on a complete sweep of all local titles when Beau Vallon lost the SVF Cup final to Premium Spikers. The hard smasher also won the bronze medal of the IOCC played in January 2006 in Madagascar.
Before leaving for Reunion to participate in the 13th edition of the IOCC, Furneau told Sports Nation that “I’m happy to be one of the 10 finalists, but I’m not expecting a top-five finish.”

Charles Siméon – weightlifting

RUNNER-UP to Sportsman of the Year 2005 Allan Julie, Charles Siméon finished among the medals in the 77-kg division at the African Weightlifting Championship in 2006 in Morocco. He registered an Olympic total of 257kg (110kg in snatch and 147kg in clean-and-jerk). His clean-and-jerk performance won him a silver medal and his Olympic total brought him a bronze medal.

He also participated in two local competitions, totaling 260kg (115kg snatch and 145kg clean-and-jerk) in the Open Championship and 255kg (110kg snatch and 145kg clean-and-jerk) in the National Championship.
“There’s a possibility that I retain my runner-up position or even finish among the top three,” said the 24-year-old.

Compiled by G. G.