Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Before the start of the London 2012 Olympics, many of the expectations for the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Team were not necessarily high. Many of the supporters weren’t expecting the level of success and recognition that was brought back to the country, especially the amount of medals that were brought back from the various events.
Of course, the highlight of the Olympics for many Trinbagonians, is that our 36 year long wait for a gold medal was ended in surprising fashion by 19 year old Toco native, Kershorn Walcott, throwing world record distance in the Javelin throw. The amazing thing about this feat is the fact that many locals never really knew who he was before the start of the games.
With the build up to the Olympic Games, many of the athletes were profiled, with the Likes of Richard Thompson, Marc Burns, Njisane Phillip, and George Bovell III just to name a few. Very little if at all any mention of Keshorn’s name. A lot of the focus would mainly be on the expected success of the Track and Field events, which truthfully we seemingly didn’t seem to have a prayer, with Jehue Gordon finishing 7th in the 400 meters Hurdles men’s Final and with none of the female athletes making the grade, it looked to be a dismal time for the T&T on the athletic front.
Many were elated to see Lalonde Gordon capture bronze, in the 400 meters flat men’s final, our first medal at the games meaning team T&T wouldn’t leave London completely empty handed. Although one of the biggest setbacks came in the 100 Meters final, where not surprisingly, the focus was on one man looking to repeat his heroics of four years ago.
By now you figured out that I’m referring to Jamaica’s own Usain Bolt, who himself had to deal with talk of his Olympic reign being threatened by new sensation, and ironically Olympic teammate, Yohan Blake, who had beaten Bolt not once, but twice earlier in the year. Throw in American Justin Gatlin, and you probably wouldn’t have noticed Richard Thompson qualified for the final, many may remember Thompson capturing silver behind Bolt in Beijing, but this time he had to settle for a dismal 7th place finish.
Then more good news as our 4x400 meters men relay team would capture bronze in the finals, but the moment of glory was to come when on Saturday August 11th, the final of the men’s Javelin throw would take place, many T&T supporters were glad to know that we had a representative in the event let alone in the final, but the world would see history made on that day, as young Keshorn would throw a new National Record of 84.58 meters with his second attempt and nobody improved on the mark for the remainder of the final.
Keshorn’s victory broke not only records, but barriers as well, as he would be one of the youngest Olympic athletes from the Caribbean to win gold, he also became the first athlete outside of Europe in 60 years to win the Javelin throw, and he would become only the second Olympic Gold Medalist from Trinidad and Tobago since Hasely Crawford won the 100 meters final in Montreal in 1976, 36 years without winning the Olympic Games Biggest Prize.
Keshorn’s gold along with the bronze form both the 4x400 and 4x100 meters relay teams, brought the medal tally to 4 medals, making the London 2012 Olympics, the most successful Olympics ever for Trinidad and Tobago, but the highlight of the Olympics for many if not every Trinbagonian, is Keshorn’s stunning victory in the Javelin throw. Could we see a repeat performance from Keshorn at the next Olympic Games? Brazil 2016 awaits with hope not just Kehsorn, but many of our Olympic hopefuls.
My name Gregory Burris, I am an aspiring journalist, part time singer/songwriter, and this is my first official piece for the Rock me Fabulous Blog. I am a passionate sports fan (football) and interested in R&B and Hip-Hop music and poetry. Follow me on twitter @_DaUrbanLegend.
