A brilliant run from T&T’s men’s 4x100 metres relay team earned this country silver in the final at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany, yesterday. Running out of lane six the T&T team of Darrel Brown, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callander and Richard Thompson, ran a new national record of 37.62 seconds.
Their performance became the third fastest ever recorded by a national team of all-time behind the world record holders Jamaica (37.10) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 37.40 registered by the USA at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
“We went into the race looking for a win, but the best team won and we can’t take that away from them,” said Burns, who ran T&T’s second leg. Commenting on the time, which is the 11th fastest of all time, he said, “It’s a major achievement for us to break the national record by 0.38 seconds. We are now the third fastest relay team in history and that is a major achievement for us.” Thompson was also elated about the team’s achievement. “I think one of the things we can always say is that we have a strong team. Over the last two years I think we have been at our best because we were not at Worlds in 2007, but now we have two silver medals from two major championships in two years that is a great thing,” said the 2008 Olympic Games 100m silver medallist. He stated that there was always a belief that the team could run under 38.00 seconds and break the national record.
“When we ran 38.06 in Beijing we knew that we could do much better because we had messed up some of the exchanges,” said 24-year-old Thompson. The experienced Brown ran lead-off for T&T and handed to Burns then to Callender with Thompson taking the fight to Jamaica’s Asafa Powell for the gold. “Darrel got out really well and it just kept flowing from there,” Thompson said. The T&T reigning national 100m champion conceded that the Jamaicans were better on the day but declared he was very pleased with his team’s effort. “The truth is that the Jamaica team were better speed-wise leg-for-leg and we knew once they got their stick around it would be hard for anyone else to match them based on what they had, but we did perfectly well with what we had and we are very satisfied with the national record,” Thompson said.
Meanwhile, Callender, who ran the third leg against three-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Bolt, shared that he was not afraid to come up against Bolt. “I would never be afraid of Usain. We train together and when you get that close to a man like him you realise that he is just human.” Injury in the second round of the men’s 100m at the Olympics cheated Brown of a chance in partaking in T&T’s silver medal winning performance. He admitted that being a part of the team’s record-breaking performance yesterday was a personal victory for him. He said, “My injury at the Olympics last year forced me out of the 4x100m team but coming here today and being a part of this team was a great feat for me. My teammates supported me over the last few months and I really wanted to help the team do well and repay them for all that they have done for me.”
The gold medal was secured by Jamaica after Powell held-off a very strong challenge from T&T’s Thompson. Other member of the Jamaican team which posted a new championship record time of 37.31 seconds were Steve Mullings, Michael Frater and Bolt. Great Britain team of Simeon Williamson, Tyrone Edgar, Marlon Devonish and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey finished third in a season best of 38.02.
Despite smashing the national record of 43.32 with a new time of 43.22 to qualify for the final, T&T’s women’s relay team wa unable to produce a medal performance. The T&T women squad which included national women’s 100m champion Kelly-Ann Baptiste, Reyare Thomas, Ayanna Hutchinson and Semoy Hackett clocked 43.43 in the final to finish seventh. Agan, Jamaica won in 42.06, with Bahamas second in a season best 42.29 and host Germany third in 42.87.
How they finished
Men’s 4x100m Relay
Place Country Time
1 Jamaica 37.31(CR)
2 T&T 37.62(NR)
3 GreatBritain 38.02(SB)
4 Japan 38.30(SB)
5 Canada 38.39(SB)
6 Italy 38.54
7 Brazil 38.56(SB)
8 France 39.21
Women’s 4x100m Relay
Place Country Time
1 Jamaica 42.06
2 Bahamas 42.29 (SB)
3 Germany 42.87 (SB)
4 Russia 43.00 (SB)
5 Brazil 43.13
6 GreatBritain 43.16 (SB)
7 T&T 43.43
8 Colombia 43.71
Team TTO
Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee