TRINIDAD AND Tobago have made their mark on the Olympic stage, bringing joy to the people of this country. Weightlifter Rodney Wilkes got the ball rolling at the 1948 London Games which was followed by some memorable performances. Sprinter Hasely Crawford, javelin thrower Keshorn Walcott and a men’s 4x100-metre team all reached the top of the podium and the efforts of swimmer George Bovell and sprinter Ato Boldon will never be forgotten.
On Tuesday, TT added a third gold medal to this country’s tally as the men’s 4x100m relay team were upgraded to gold, 14 years after earning a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
This reporter takes a look back at the 19 medals (three gold, five silver and 11 bronze) this country won in the history of the Olympic Games.
TT have picked up medals in three sports at the Olympics – track and field, weightlifting and swimming.
GOLD
Crawford won TT’s first gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Games.
Crawford had stiff competition heading into the Games as the event included 1972 gold medallist Valeriy Borzov of Soviet Union and the highly favoured Donald Quarrie of Jamaica.
In the second semifinal, Crawford sealed a place in the final by winning in 10.22 seconds. Quarrie was second in 10.26.
[caption id="attachment_963822" align="alignnone" width="1024"] In this July 24, 1976 file photo, Hasely Crawford (right) from Trinidad and Tobago crosses the finish line in the men's 100-metre final, at the 1976 Olympic Games, in Montreal, Canada. Also in photo are Russia's Valerie Borzov (centre), and Jamaica's Donald Quarrie (left). (AFP PHOTO) -[/caption]
In the final, Crawford became a household name in TT when crossed the finish line in 10.06. Quarrie was second in 10.08 and Borzov had to settle for bronze in 10.14.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jamaica won the men’s 4x100m event, led by legendary sprinter Usain Bolt.
Jamaica won the event in 37.10 in a then Olympic and world record.
TT finished second in 38.06.
However, in 2017, the International Olympic Committee revealed that Jamaica team member Nesta Carter had violated the anti-doping code by testing positive for methylhexaneamine. Jamaica were disqualified and TT were announced as the new winners.
The TT team of Richard Thompson, Marc Burns, Keston Bledman, Emmanuel Callender and Aaron Armstrong received their medals in a short Olympic medal reallocation ceremony at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
Not much was expected of Walcott heading into the 2012 London Games. By the end of the Games, Walcott was considered one of this country’s greatest Olympians.
Walcott, only 19 at the time, was still a national junior athlete.
In the qualifying round, he sealed a place in the final by throwing 81.75m on his third and final throw. Walcott had the tenth best throw among the 12 finalists.
In the final, Walcott broke the national record with a throw of 84.58m to cop gold.
It was Walcott’s day as Vitezslav Vesely of Czech Republic, who threw a massive 88.34m in the qualifying round, co
