Profiles: Heroes, Role Models and Pioneers of Trinidad and Tobago - by Nasser Khan

166 CLIFFORD ROACH (1908-1988) C lifford Roach first represented T&T in cricket in 1924 and went on to represent the West Indies in their first Test match ever in 1928, alongside Learie Constantine, Wilton St. Hill and Joe Small. A brilliant right-handed opening batsman, who also represented T&T in football, he scored the first century (122 against England in January 1930 in Barbados) and double century (209 one month later in British Guiana in the same series) ever by a West Indian batsman. GISELLE SALANDY (1987-2009) G iselle Salandy was an unbeaten world-class female boxer (17 fights, 17 wins with 6 knockouts) and was ranked as the #1 female light middleweight boxer of all-time. She died in a car accident on January 4, 2009. She attended St. Bridgid’s Girls’RC School, Penal Junior Secondary School and then Fyzabad Composite School, making her professional debut at just 13 years of age. InOctober 2001, Salandy fought and defeated Paola Rojas, becoming the youngest person to win a boxing title, the WIBA IBERO Title, at the age of fourteen years. In September 2005 on a T&T vs. USA boxing card, Salandy defeated Manela Daniels, breaking a second world record by becoming the youngest female in the world to win the NABC World Title. Then in December 2006 she became the first person to win six world title belts in one fight. Salandy was awarded Top History Making Fighter of the year 2006 by WBAN and awarded the First Citizens Sports Woman of the year 2006 by the First Citizens Sports Foundation in Trinidad and Tobago.