RIP Giselle

In the current issue of Discover Trinidad & Tobago, we made special mention of T&T's sporting icons.

Among them was rising star, world record-breaking and reigning WBA, IWBF, WIBA and WBC World Light Middleweight champion Giselle Salandy. She recently made another successful defence of her titles just over a week ago on Boxing Day (December 26, 2008) in Trinidad. She was also the recipient of the Chaconia Medal Gold, Trinidad & Tobago's second highest honour.

Salandy (aka Jizelle Joseph) was arguably the greatest female boxer the islands have ever produced, and seemed poised not only to continue making history internationally, but to give new life to the field of female boxing in T&T.

Salandy also boasted a heart as big and powerful as her punches in the ring, with a true commitment to empowering young people and giving back to her country. News of her death shattered not only close friends and family, but the Fyzabad and Siparia communities in southern Trinidad where she grew up.

There is no way we would have believed that early in this new year, the nation would be mourning the loss of this tremendously talented young woman. She passed away early this morning after sustaining injuries in a vehicular accident on the Beetham Highway near Port of Spain, just weeks short of her 22nd birthday.

The news has stunned and saddened both boxing fans and the Trinbagonian public at large, in a country beseiged by road fatalities and senseless crime, and in need of promising young people to carry the nation forward. Her death comes just days after another car accident that left Olympic medallist Richard Thompson and fellow Olympian Monique Cabral hospitalised. They both now have been released.

Giselle Salandy has done her nation proud and remains a a record-breaking exemplary figure on the national stage. We only wish she were still with us to achieve all she seemed so poised to, and to touch many more lives. We will miss this shining example of what hard work, humility and determination can accomplish, and send our sincerest condolences to her family and loved ones. Rest in peace, Giselle. You shall not be forgotten.

US boxer Dakota Stone, left, fights Giselle Salandy at the Jean Pierre Complex, Trinidad.
Photo: Anthony Harris (published in Caribbean Beat, March/April 2008)

Boxer Giselle Salandy trades punches with Moroccan-born Mariem Brakache.
Photo: Anthony Harris (published in Discover Trinidad & Tobago 2008)

More on Giselle Salandy (January 25, 1987–January 4, 2009):

• Slugging Her Way to the Top (Kwame Laurence, Caribbean Beat, March/April 2003, Issue #60)
• Fighting Out of the Box (Laura Dowrich-Phillips, Caribbean Beat, March/April 2008, Issue #90)
• Salandy Scores Record Win (Discover TnT Blog, April 2, 2008)
• Giselle Salandy Profile on Women Boxing Archive Network (WBAN)
• Salandy Wins Boxing Day Bout With Hernandez (CTNTWorld.com, December 27, 2008)