Sports administrators are seeing T&T’s 4x400 metres relay team’s gold medal feat at yesterday’s World Athletics Championships in London as the impetus needed to rise above the country’s social and economic challenges.
With the usually dominant USA and British teams taking their marks at the London Stadium for the Games’ final day yesterday, commentators gave the T&T team of Jarrin Solomon, Jareem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon little chance at capturing gold. But by the end of the race the team had shocked the world, as they beat the Americans and the Brits into second and third respectively with the fastest time in the event this year of 2:58.12. Their feat also marked the first time in the country’s history a 4x400 team had earned a gold medal.
As the screams of victory erupted from almost every home and watering hole across T&T, Sports Minister Darryl Smith, who had a lime to cheer on the team, said the victory continues to show that T&T is experiencing its best year in sports.
The victory followed Richards’ bronze medal three days ago in the 200 metres final and para athlete Akeem Stewart’s two gold medals at the World Para Athletics Championships last month, among other accomplishments by local athletes this year.
“We are very proud and we’re just going to continue the success in track and field and all the other sports,” Smith said in an interview with the T&T Guardian.
“I know the people are very happy, the country really needed this. I hope we can use this as a catalyst to raise the spirit of the country, because when it comes to sports and supporting our athletes out there, crime and everything negative stops, especially when we are doing well.”
His view was supported by the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) president, Ephraim Serrette, who said he hoped corporate T&T will see the unity sports brings and lend its support to promoting events that can help curb crime.
“We need to focus and get more young people involved in sports and culture because it is definitely something we can use to fight crime in this country,” Serrette said.
He said what was more exciting for him was that the team was able to overcome the USA, who normally dominates the event.
Like former Olympian Hasely Crawford, he said the local athletes weren’t even mentioned in the same sentences as winners until they crossed the finish line. He said he hoped that now that they had won, the “stay at home coaches and advisers” will now leave the management of the athletes to the trained personnel.
The team was also congratulated on behalf of the country by acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert. In a statement, Imbert said “their performance gave us yet another opportunity to hear our national anthem playing while the red, white and black was raised in victory for the world to see. All the athletes who represented Trinidad and Tobago would have undoubtedly exercised discipline, trained hard and sacrificed much to get to this point and must be commended.”
T&T Olympic Committee president Brian Lewis, who only returned from Rwanda yesterday, just in time to view the race on YouTube, described the performance as inspirational and one that showed tremendous guts and determination.
“You saw it on their faces and the way they ran. They were determined to win the gold and it was captured on the face of Lalonde Gordon as he sprinted towards the finish line,” Lewis said.
He said the difficult economic period the country was experiencing had affected the athletes and sporting organisations. He said it was a fact that the athletes who participated in the Games were not able to access the kind of financial support needed, yet they gave their heart to T&T. He was also in high praise for Richards, who recovered from a shaky start in the 200 metres men’s final to recover and capture the bronze medal.
“I will like us to start looking past the surface level of this victory because it shows a people who are resilient and can overcome anything.”
The T&T delegation will return home today aboard a British Airways flight from London at 3.55 pm. Smith said he and other ministry officials will welcome the athletes at the Piarco International Airport. He said a welcome event will be held for the athletes, but it will not be as elaborate as those held in years gone by because of limited funding. Smith said he will also meet with the Cabinet to discuss what can be done for the athletes going forward.