Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye said she was surprised to receive the TT Olympic Committee’s (TTOC) Sportswoman of the Year award for 2023 during the 29th annual award ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain on Friday night.

Ahye, 31, edged European-based cyclist Teniel Campbell – the 2022 award winner – to the 2023 crown. Ahye’s 2023 season hit its pinnacle when she grabbed a bronze medal in the women’s 100-metre event at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile in a time of 11.53 seconds. Ahye, who also copped the Sportswoman of the Year award in 2021, claimed her second Pan Am medal overall as she had also grabbed silver in the 100-metre event behind Jamaican sprint phenom Elaine Thompson-Herah in Lima, Peru in 2019.

“I was shocked (when I got the award). I did not really get any awards this season. I had an up and down season,” Ahye told the media on Friday. “When I heard my name, I was like ‘whoa, okay. That is good.’”

At the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August, Ahye was the only TT sprinter to reach the semi-final round in the women’s 100-metre event. However, her time of 11.18 seconds saw her finish joint-fifth in the semis and ended her quest for a podium finish.

“This season, it was about being able to survive the track. I was just happy I was able to complete my season and I am good now.”

TTOC’s junior Sportswoman of the Year award went to talented sprinter Sanaa Frederick, who copped medals at the Carifta Games, the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games which were held in TT from August 4-11.

Ahye said the young sprinters are keeping her on top of her game.

“Every year I always get competition from the younger ones. They are proving they have potential for the future.”

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