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It is no accident that few in Trinidad and Tobago knew who Lalonde Gordon was before he showed up in the London 2012 Olympic heats on August 4 for the first of a string of performances that led the quarter-miler to double Olympic bronze.
Even after chatting with the introverted Tobago-born athlete, it is hard to get a picture of who he really is.
But one can sense that the runner is as humble as he is reserved.
Gordon’s mother Cynthia Cupid, though, has shed more light on the soft-spoken Olympic hero.
His desire to be surrounded by positives is complemented by his quietness, Cupid explained as reporters attempted to get some insight on the runner, whose favourite animal as a youngster, coincidentally, was a cheetah. She pointed out that her son does not like being around “negative people”.
She was speaking yesterday at the Piarco International Airport as her son returned to Trinidad and Tobago after the Olympic Games.
As a child, Cupid said, Gordon – who spent most of his life in the United States – fell ill.
She took him to the hospital where he had surgery, and the doctor said her son “wasn’t really sick”. He had too much muscle around his abdomen which was impeding his intestines.
Even as a six-year-old, Gordon had that spirit of determination. In elementary school he won a trophy, and promised her the next week to pick up an even bigger one.
“And he brought back the bigger one,” Cupid said.
It was little surprise to Cupid, then, that Gordon would be on his way to the Olympics to run the individual 400m lap after failing to achieve the qualifying time at the Sagicor National Track and Field Championships, despite toppling defending champion Renny Quow, also of Tobago.
“After the trials, he said ‘Mommy, I am going to the Olympics’. He was already in the 4x400m (relay), but he wanted to run by himself (in the 400m event). So what I did, I bought him a ticket to go to Nebraska where he competed and he [clocked] 45.02. Right away we went to England (ahead of the Olympics).”
Cupid watched on from the stands as Lalonde strode to second in his heat, then first in his semi-final in a personal best 44.54, a mark he then improved on in the final for another personal best and Olympic bronze, all after just two years as a quarter-miler.
After that performance, she was positive T&T’s 4x400m team of Gordon, Machel Cedenio, Ade Alleyne-Forte and Deon Lendore, in the absence of Renny Quow, would medal for only the second time, and the first time since Wendell Mottley, Kent Bernard, Edwin Roberts and Edwin Skinner did so in Tokyo 1964.
“They were very positive,” Cupid recalled. “I met them, and they were dancing in the restaurant, and they felt like they were going to do something good. And they all get along because I see that they look out for each other. There was no hostility, there was love.”
Cupid believes that Lalonde’s 400m bronze medal–T&T’s first at the Games–helped inspire his 4x400m relay teammates.
“… I spoke to every one of them and I said ‘you guys can do it’,” Cupid said. “Because when I see the other guys and I saw the times (they were running), I said, you know what, you guys could do it. Just go out there like there’s a lion running behind you guys, and just do it And I was happy when I see they came in third.”
Following his arrival at Piarco yesterday, Gordon said: “I know I can do a lot. I just (learned) I can do a lot.”
The lanky soft-spoken, quarter-miler returned to Piarco International Airport before heading to Tobago for celebrations at Arthur NR Robinson Airport in the sister isle.
Gordon was treated to a hero’s welcome at Piarco’s VIP Lounge, and mobbed by the media with a plethora of questions after the official proceedings were over. And just as he did in the Olympic 400 metre finale, the 23-year old US-based college student, took every question calmly, and in stride.
Asked how he felt about his Olympic performances, replied: “Knowing that this is what I wanted to do all my life, and knowing that I made my country proud that day, it was a good feeling and I just thank God.”
Only three years ago, Gordon said he had returned to track and field after a six-year hiatus. And he only picked up the 400m–an event he did not even like–in 2010. It turned out to be a genius idea.
“I was running since I was small, but I didn’t run for about six years,” Gordon told reporters yesterday. “I started back training in 2009, for my college, Mohawk Valley Community College…started doing the 400m in 2010, never liked it, but I just wanted to give it a shot. Every week I started getting better at it, so I just stuck to the 400m.”
Gordon won the event at T&T’s National Championships in late June. He persevered to make the time at the US National Club Track and Field Championships in Omaha Nebraska, clocking 45.02 in his last shot at the qualifying mark. He would push the envelope again, twice registering personal bests to secure T&T’s first medal at the Games with a 44.52 clocking. “My body never went so fast like in the rounds, so it was like a type of shock,” Gordon explained. “But I said in the finals I just have to come through and I could pull through, so I just give it all I got.”

By Kern De Freitas

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

FORMER Olympian, Hasely Crawford, who won the Men’s100-Metre dash at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, has cleared the air on circulating rumours that he wanted to be Trinidad and Tobago’s only gold medallist.

During a Sunday Newsday interview on Thursday at his home in Federation Park, St James, Crawford responded to critics, whom he claimed, said that he wanted to be the country’s only gold medallist, following Keshorn Walcott’s overwhelming success in the recently-concluded Olympic Games in London, United Kingdom.

Walcott, 19, of Trois Roche village, Toco, did the country proud when he attained a gold medal in the javelin competition at the Games with a record- breaking throw of 84.58 metres. He became T&T’s second gold medallist after some 36 years.

Deeply upset by the statement, Crawford, who has been a long-standing member of the National Amateur Athletic Association (NAAA), said he had sat down for lengthy periods with other members of the association’s executive to try to develop track and field in this country over the years.

“Late in the night in Couva we have been planning for the Olympic Games (London). Is that someone who wanted to be the only gold medallist?” he asked.

“Wanting to be the only gold medallist is of no value to me. If I was getting millions of dollars for that, of course.”

If he had wanted to be T&T’s sole gold medallist, Crawford said, “It would be an indication that we were not doing something right if we cannot produce a medallist after 36 years. It upsets me. That is so far from the truth,” he said of the statement.

Crawford, who turned 62 on Thursday, said he had also followed and supported the careers of sprinters Darrel Brown, Marc Burns, Richard Thompson and others over the last decade

“Most of them never came for advice in the way they should but I made sure I was there for them. Is that a person who want to stay the only gold medallist?” he asked.

Crawford, who had attended the London Olympics, said it was joy to see Walcott perform in the javelin toss against some of the world’s heavyweights.

The former Olympian said he later instructed permanent secretary in the Ministry of Sport, Ashwin Creed and NAAA President, Ephraim Serette, to prepare for the country’s next gold medallist.

“A lot of people did not expect him to win but everything went in his favour, including the breeze, when he threw. Is as though God was in this thing,” he said.

Crawford added, “The Olympic Games is a spiritual thing. To win a gold, the mental, spiritual and physical must become one at that moment. It happened on that day for Keshorn.”

He added, “When you are competing you evoke a spirit. It’s a fact. Here it is a junior ,19, the world record holder and you beat them (European athletes). You telling me there is no spirit in that?” he asked.

By COREY CONNELLY

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) has rejected claims by Dick Pound, former chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), suggesting that the country's athletes are not being properly tested for drugs.

JADCO has strongly defended Jamaica's anti-doping programme after Pound said on an international television station that Jamaican athletes belonged to a group that was difficult to test.

The international spotlight has fallen directly on Jamaican athletes after they dominated the sprint events at the London Olympics.

"There is no way that anyone could dare talk about JADCO being a third world organisation versus a first world organisation," declared Professor Winston Davidson, vice-chairman JADCO.

"As far as I am concerned we adhere to the same international standards and are as good or even better than those who call themselves first world."

Usain Bolt stormed to victory in both the 100 and 200 metres, with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce snatching gold in the women's 100 as the Caribbean island consolidated its domination

Pound, now a member of the International Olympic Committee, said Jamaican athletes should now expect more visits by drug testers.

However, Davidson has insisted that nothing is wrong with JADCO's anti-doping programme.

"...and as such everything must be done that's transparent and that can stand any kind of scrutiny or any rigor from any quarter at home and abroad."

Jamaica won a clean sweep in the men's 200 with Yohan Blake and Warren Weir winning silver and bronze behind Bolt.

"No, they are one of the groups that are hard to test, it is (hard) to get in and find them and so forth," Pound told Reuters Television when asked whether he was happy with the way Jamaica tested its athletes.

"I think they can expect, with the extraordinary results that they have had, that they will be on everybody's radar."

More than 100 athletes were caught using banned substances in the months leading up to the Games following increased testing by national and international anti-doping agencies

Meantime, WADA has indicated it has no concerns about the operations of Jamaica's anti-doping authorities.

WADA said the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission was deemed compliant in the compliance report passed by WADA's foundation board last November.

"In order to achieve compliance, an anti-doping organisation needs to satisfy a number of criteria with regard to its anti-doping programme, including having an element of out-of-competition testing," WADA said in a statement sent to the RJR Communications Group.

"It must also have in place anti-doping regulations that allow the programme to function effectively."

WADA said many Jamaican track-and-field athletes are part of the IAAF's registered testing pool and are, therefore, also tested independently of their national anti-doping programme.

"WADA has visited Jamaica several times in the last couple of years to provide guidance and advice to JADCO," the international agency said. "We expect an invitation to return again this year as a result of the appointment of a new CEO at JADCO."

WADA also noted that JADCO is mandated to deliver a report every year to its stakeholders which identifies any anti-doping rules violations and that WADA had received the report.

"As with all signatories, WADA will continue to monitor and offer assistance where needed to make anti-doping efforts as robust as possible," the agency said. —CMC

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross edged Botswana's Amantle Montsho to win the women's 400 metres at the DN Gala Diamond League meeting yesterday.

Four Trinidad and Tobago athletes also competed in Stockholm--Richard Thompson, Jehue Gordon, Jarrin Solomon and Cleopatra Borel.

Solomon was second in the men's 400 metres in 46.18 seconds; Gordon (49.00) was fourth in the men's 400m hurdles; Thompson (10.23) was sixth in the men's 100m; and Borel (18.11 metres) was sixth in the women's shot put.

American Ryan Bailey won the men's 100-metre race in 9.93 seconds. Jamaicans Nesta Carter and Michael Frater finished second and third respectively, but failed to dip below the 10-second mark.

In the women's 400m, Richards-Ross moved in front of Montsho down the stretch and finished in 49.89 seconds. Montsho clocked 50.03, with Britain's Christine Ohuruogu taking third in 50.77.

"I feel good. Coming back for a race like this after the Olympics, you can feel physically and emotionally drained," Richards-Ross said. "But it went pretty well. And the atmosphere was fantastic."

American countryman Michael Tinsley also picked up a victory, beating Olympic champion Felix Sanchez in the 400m hurdles in 48.50 seconds. Dominican Sanchez finished 0.43 behind while Jamaican Leford Green was third in 48.97.

"I think it's pretty good to get your legs going after the Olympics," Tinsley said. "There is a lot of physical and mental stress going into the Olympics, so it's nice to come out and relax and run."

Sanchez, who only arrived in Stockholm from his home country on Friday, felt he couldn't have done much better under the circumstances.

"My legs are really tired and I didn't get out well at all," he said. "My stride pattern was all messed up, so I was happy to come second. I haven't been in Stockholm for 24 hours. My body is on auto-pilot right now."

Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor of the United States managed 18.72 yards to win his event. Ukraine's Sheryf El Sheryf was second, and Russian Lyukman Adams took third.

"It went wonderful today," Taylor said. "My hopes were high and every time I compete I try to go over that 17-metre barrier... Obviously I'm on a high from the Olympic Games and I am just so blessed to have a wonderful coach, and winning this has been the icing on the cake."

Shot put star Valerie Adams, coming off the New Zealander's second Olympic gold in London, dominated her event, throwing 22.16 yards. Russian Yevgenia Kolodko was second with her 20.87-yard throw, while Germany's Christina Schwanitz was third.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

The Sports Company of T&T (SporTT) will host a reception and media conference today with the arrival of double Olympic Bronze medallist Lalonde Gordon, at the VIP Lounge, Piarco International Airport, from 12.45 pm. The Tobago-born Gordon captured bronze in the 400m and 4x400m events at the London Olympics. He returns home with his mother Cynthia Cupid to share in the national jubilation of the country’s Olympic success. Minister of Sport Anil Roberts will be present at the reception, along with officials of the T&T Olympic Committee, the National Association of Athletics Administrations and members of the successful 4x400m relay team. Gordon will subsequently visit Tobago for celebratory activities there before heading to Europe to compete on the Diamond League circuit.

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott has turned down offers from the United States (US) to accept a full scholarship offered by Government to pursue tertiary studies at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

At a gala reception at the Piarco International Airport on Monday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar revealed Government will be honouring the 19-year-old for his phenomenal achievement in London last Saturday.

Among the list of rewards to Walcott was the scholarship to study whatever he desires at UTT.

Walcott was also given a house in Federation Park worth $2.5 million, 20,000 square feet of land and $1 million in cash.

To also honour him, the Toco Lighthouse was renamed the Keshorn Walcott Lighthouse, a Caribbean Airlines aircraft would be named after him, his former secondary school, Toco Composite, will also now bear his name.

Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Walcott, who was offered scholarships in the US, revealed he is staying in Trinidad and will be attending UTT.

“Yes I accepted it (the scholarship) but I’m not sure as yet (what I am studying),” he said.

Walcott, who has gone from virtual obscurity to one of the most famous people in the country, previously attended the now Keshorn Walcott Secondary School in Toco where he wrote his CXC examinations.

He later returned to the same school to pursue Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). Walcott wrote his Level I exams but due to a hectic 2012 season was unable to write the final Level II exam.

Walcott competed at the National Junior Championships on June 3, the National Open Championships on June 24, the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Championships on June 29 and the World Junior Championship in Spain on July 13, winning gold at every single meet.

He then flew to a pre-Olympic camp in Wales before going to the Olympics in London where he beat an impressive field which included World champion Matthias de Zordo of Germany and number one ranked Vitezslav Vesely of the Czech Republic.

“Because we had to focus on certain goals (he couldn’t write the examinations),” Sean Roach, Walcott’s manager stated yesterday. It is unclear if Walcott will complete his CAPE studies or be allowed to study at UTT based on other entry level requirements.

Meanwhile, Walcott, who received a Blackberry smartphone from TSTT on Tuesday, following a visit to their branch on Edward Street in Port-of-Spain, revealed no endorsement deal has been finalised as yet with the telecommunications company.

The reigning World Junior champion was paraded before his adoring fans from Piarco to his hometown of Toco in a motorcade that lasted over seven hours on Monday, ending in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

The outpouring of love and support for the teenager have been tremendous with more than 7,000 turning up at the airport to greet him and thousands more lining the streets to catch a glimpse of their hero.

Asked how has this experience been for him, Walcott said he really appreciated those who made his homecoming such a grand affair.

“It feels really great. Everything has been coming along great,” he said yesterday, while he noted that rest and recuperation alone are on his mind for the near future.

By Stephon Nicholas

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

NATIONAL SPRINTER Michelle-Lee Ahye is satisfied with her performances at the recently-concluded Olympic Games in London, England.

Ahye featured in the women’s 100-metre sprints, where she was eighth in her semi-final heat, in 11.32 seconds, while she was part of the women’s 4x100m relay team, who had a failed baton exchange in the final at the London Olympic Stadium.

In an interview upon her arrival home on Monday, at the Piarco International Airport, the 20-year-old commented, “it was a good experience, even though it had little mishaps. But it was a very good experience for me. I learnt a lot, it was pretty good.”

Reflecting on the pre-Olympic camp in Wales, Ahye noted, “when we reached to Wales, everything was alright.

“Everything was good, on point. We got our own Caribbean chef so we had our own local dishes. It was pretty awesome.”

Asked about her experiences on the world stage in London, she replied, “at my age, for me it was pretty good. Honestly, words can’t explain how I was feeling, representing Trinidad and Tobago. It was good to me.”

But, as far as the relay was concerned, “it was good being there for the heats but, in the final, even though we had a little mishap, just being there in the final was good.”

Admitting that “my season is officially over, until next year”, she stated, “I’m just relaxing my shin right now.

“I have a little shin problem but, by November, I’ll be back out training,” she ended.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

Trinidad and Tobago's Cleopatra Borel is  an official London 2012 Finalist following  disqualification of Belarus gold medalist for failed drug test. Borel was denied the opportunity to contest for an Olympic medal. " It highlights why drug taking cheats should be banned for life. Honest athletes are denied their just due. Changing the results after the fact is not enough." said TTOC secretary general Brian Lewis.

http://m.london2012.com/athletics/event=athletics-women-shot-put/phase=atw051900/

A public apology is extended to London 2012 Olympians  Michelle-Lee Ahye (4 x 100 women's relay finalist), Mikel Thomas, Reyare Thomas , Machel Cedenio  for what transpired during the welcome reception at the VIP Lounge at the Piarco Airport .

Your sterling efforts during the London 2012 campaign. Your commitment and contribution to the harmony, togetherness , team spirit  and Trinidad and Tobago's historic London 2012 performance were exemplary.

There were difficult and happy moments, tears of joy and sorrow. Through it all the harmony and team spirit did not waiver.

The collective joy and support for Keshorn Walcott , all the medalists and finalists were genuine and sincere.

As such any embarrassment that may have been endured by you and your family is regretted.

Keshorn created history and his achievements are deserving of the highest commendation and accolades. It is understandable that given the outpouring of emotion and celebrations that unintended situations may occur.

Once again an  unreserved apology is extended.

Brian Lewis

Secretary General

TTOC

New Zealand has won its sixth gold medal of the Olympics after Valerie Adams' rival Nadzeya Ostapchuk tested positive for drugs and was stripped of gold.

The dramatic development occurred just hours after the curtain came down on the 30th Olympiad in London.

Ostapchuk tested positive test for metenolone, an anabolic agent.

The result means the 27-year-old Adams has won gold at successive Olympics. It lifts
New Zealand one place on the medal table to 15th, ahead of Cuba and is our second best gold haul, just behind the eight of Los Angeles in 1984.

New Zealand's total medal haul of 13 equals the country's best ever, achieved at the Seoul games of 1988.

On Tuesday morning, Adams finished second behind Ostapchuk, her throw of 20.7m well behind the Belarusian's 21.36m.

Adams was driving to coach Jean-Pierre Egger's house in Switzerland when she heard the news she was again the Olympic champion. "I just burst into tears," she said early today. "I fell into JP's arms and we shared the moment. It's a lot for me to take in at the moment."

Of her rival, Adams said she was "history". "My feeling is I don't want to waste any energy on her. I just want to enjoy the moment."

Adams said she had noticed the extraordinary throws Ostapchuk had thrown before the Olympics, "but I never wanted to assume. Other people have made comments about how she looks and how she throws".

The New Zealander hit out at Ostapchuk's unveiling as a drugs cheat. "It is also encouraging for those athletes like myself who are proud to compete cleanly that the system works and doping cheats are caught."

Adams admitted she felt robbed by the fact that the people she cares about did not get the chance to see her on the top step of the podium and hear the New Zealand anthem.

Her Olympic campaign was clouded by an administrative error that saw her name missing from the official start list. Only an 11th-hour intervention by the NZ Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) enabled Adams to attempt to defend the title she won in Beijing.

Adams said the bungle messed with her head and she threw poorly during the final.

Intriguingly, Egger offered an enigmatic appraisal of Ostapchuk's performance, saying he "would prefer to remain silent".

The implication was that something was amiss about the Belarusian's rapid improvement. It was the first time she had beaten Adams in nearly two years.

Ostapchuk, 31, was first tested by urine sample the day before competition and again straight after the final. Both samples showed up the presence of metenolone.

The drug is a long-acting anabolic steroid, which boosts cellular tissue in muscles and stimulates male characteristics. It is taken orally or through injection.

Late last night, the Wikipedia entry for the drug was already saying it was the preferred anabolic of Nadzeya Ostapchuk.

Adams' New Zealand teammates were ecstatic when they learned she would get the gold after all.

"Everyone cried - it was pretty emotional," said Annalie Longo, a member of the women's football team, as she left the athletes village. "We're just so happy, she worked so hard and she totally deserved the gold medal."

She expressed regret that Adams had not been able to receive the gold medal at the victory ceremony.

"We feel cheated in a way, not being able to play the anthem and having taken the moment off her," Longo said.

Brett Addison, sport manager at Athletics New Zealand, said the gold medal was fantastic news for Adams and justification of her rating as the top shot-putter in the world.

He said Ostapchuk's vast improvement from last June, when Adams beat her by more than one metre, had raised some questions.

"She went back to Belarus and had some amazing throws, so there were some questions raised then. But unless an athlete tests positive you can't really say anything."

New Zealand Olympic Committee Secretary General Kereyn Smith said Adams' honour was well deserved. She added that New Zealand athletes were proud to compete cleanly on the world's stage.

The chef de mission of the New Zealand team, Dave Currie, said the news was wonderful and he was very proud of Adams.

The IOC Disciplinary Commission disqualified Ostapchuk, withdrew her medal and asked the IAAF to change the result.

The silver medal now goes to Russian Evgeniia Kolodko and the bronze to Lijiao Gong of China.

During the Games, the IOC carried out tests on the top five finishers in each event, plus two others at random. Around 3800 urine and 1200 blood samples were taken.

Nine athletes returned positive tests, but only Ostapchuk has been stripped of a medal.

By Andrew Alderson, David Leggat and Dylan Cleaver

Source: www.nzherald.co.nz