So far, Rio 2016, T&T's 17th appearance at the Olympics since 1964, has not seen the expected additions to the country's medal tally.
In fact, with just a few days to go before the curtains come down on that global sporting event, not a single member of Team T&T has mounted a winners' podium, although hope is still alive of success in the few remaining events of the games.
What has become painfully clear over the past few days, based on criticism of the country's Rio Olympians, is the heavy weight of expectation they have been made to carry. Just four years ago, at the London games, T&T won its most Olympic medals.
The fact that a medal has not yet been won in Rio has, unfortunately, detracted from the record-breaking performances of local athletes who have been recording personal bests in some of the most fiercely contested events in Olympics history.
Those biting criticisms have overshadowed the performance of young sprinter Machel
Cedenio, whose explosive burst of speed while challenging for the gold medal in last weekend's men's 400 metres finals is worthy of celebration.
Just 20-years-old and already a bright prospect for the Japan games in 2020, Cedenio broke the national 400 metres record set by Ian Morris 24 years ago at the Barcelona Olympics with a time of 44.01, although he ended up in fourth place.
A few days later, another national record was broken by Michelle-Lee Ahye when her time 22.25 seconds earned her a spot in an Olympic final.
Critical comments have also been directed at Richard "Torpedo" Thompson whose failure to win an individual medal in Rio should not be allowed to detract from his past athletic achievements. The critics seem to have forgotten that Thompson is also a T&T record holder with a personal best of 9.82. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was the silver medalist in the 100 m race where he ran a then personal best of 9.89 seconds.
The fact is that these athletes, along with others representing T&T in Rio in other disciplines, worked very hard to earn their places on the team, making great personal sacrifices in the process.
What the critics, particularly those of the armchair variety must remember, is that T&T still has some promising medal prospects even in these final few days of Rio 2016. Also, the T&T Olympic Committee's quest for ten or more Olympic gold medals by the year 2024 (#10Golds24) is still alive, although much more than the efforts and commitment of the sports men and women is required to achieve that goal.
Instead of promoting the "bandwagonist" culture in which many people hop on board when there is victory on an international stage, more national focus must be on developing and encouraging future sports stars. Sports administrators, corporate T&T and citizens share equal blame for not providing the kind of consistent support that can motivate and inspire winning performances.
As the country's first Olympic gold medalist Hasely Crawford pointed out just a few weeks ago, winning a gold medal–or any medal for that matter–is not easy. His heartfelt appeal for more support for current and upcoming athletes should not be ignored. To produce medal winners in 2020, 2024 and beyond, there must be tangible support beginning now and not only when athletes appear to be on a sure path to victory.
