Jehue Gordon’s gold medal-winning performance in the 400 metres hurdles on August 15 at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships was a proud moment for Trinidad and Tobago.
But what citizens may not know are the hurdles Gordon himself had to endure in training this season, due to the unavailabilty of the Hasely Crawford Stadium from January to March this year.
“Between January and March this year, we had no access to the (Hasely Crawford) stadium. In an event like the hurdles where technical efficiency is very important and knowing what you are doing over a particular distance is very important, it is very difficult to replicate that outside of a stadium that has specific markings—so Jehue could do no 400m training between January and March,” Gordon’s coach Dr Ian Hypolite told the Express on Sunday.
Speaking at a gala celebratory event at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain, hosted by the Ministry of Sport to welcome Gordon back to Trinidad after the end of the competitive season, Hypolite stressed that proper facilities—and access to those facilities—are a challenge to athletes and coaches.
“We tend to not always have access to facilities we need at all times. There are tremendous restrictions placed on us by virtue of the (Hasely Crawford) stadium being closed for long periods, particularly after Carnival and other shows. On average if there is a show we will sometimes lose the stadium for up to two weeks,” he said.
The “Hasely Crawford” also has the only track in the country that is IAAF certified.
Adding to that frustration, Hypolite said all other stadia that could have been used as potential training grounds had simultaneously been decommissioned for repair, so for that period Gordon and his colleagues had to work out on grass and could not do specific work related to the hurdles, because there just were no facilities available.
“That’s a huge drawback and something I hope will be addressed. Jehue Gordon is one person, but there are many other talented people—some of whom I coach and feel have the potential to make it and you need a training situation to do your best.
“On the outside I don’t think Jehue would have this type of difficulty that we experience regarding accessing facilities. We manage to make do, but I feel that’s an area where we have to (improve),” Hypolite said.
Finance Minister Larry Howai in his Budget presentation on Monday said the framework was being developed for the construction of several new facilities, notably a National Aquatic Centre, the National Tennis Centre, and the National Cycle Centre—but no mention of track and field facilities.
The Ministry of Sport was allocated approximately $850 million in the Budget, with $9 million allocated to a “development programme”.