media_artricles :: 2015

Olympic champ joins elite 90m club

LYMPIC CHAMPION Keshorn Walcott produced a throw of 90- plus metres on his first attempt, then sat back and watched as his rivals in the Men’s Javelin strove desperately and in vain to match it, at yesterday’s IAAF Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

On a day when most of the pre-meet hype seemed to centre around the strongest Men’s 100-metre field assembled for the year, the Toco-born 22-year-old forced his name into the headlines with that single gold medal-winning effort of 90.16 metres, leaving all his world-ranked rivals in his wake.

Walcott’s feat set several marks. It was the third time he had broken the national record for the year; on June 4th, he produced 86.20m with his sixth and final effort in Rome, taking the bronze medal in the process. Three days later, he reset the mark at 86.43m in Birmingham.

Yesterday’s new mark was a meet record for the Athletissima, and the second-longest throw for 2015; it was also the greatest distance ever achieved by any athlete from the western hemisphere.

Responding to the news, TT Olympic Committee Brian Lewis was ecstatic. “Really great news! It’s great to see Keshorn reaping the rewards of his hard work and discipline. He has one of the best coaches (Cuban Ismael Mastrapa Lopez) in the world. Keshorn has tremendous potential.”

Lewis, speaking from Toronto where he was attending a Pan American Sport Organisation (PASO) meeting added, “He has shown progression since London 2012, and it’s a good performance ahead of the Pan Am and Worlds.”

When Newsday confirmed that Walcott had won, Sports Minister Brent Sancho responded, “I’m extremely elated to know that Keshorn has again improved on his fine display, and we’re hoping that he continues on in this great vein of form that he’s in.”

For the record, the next-best effort, by Vitezslav Vesely of the Czech Republic, was 87.97m, while Finland’s Tero Pitkamaki (87.44) claimed the bronze.

Ephraim Serrette, president of the National Association of Athletics Federations (NAAF) paid credit to Walcott and the team working with him. “I think he’s progressing well. The programme that he’s working with, actually I think they have understood the whole preparation aspect,” he told Newsday. “So he would have started throwing 80, 85, 86 and now (he’s) peaking at a time when he should be doing those type of throws; and getting it in the first throw is even better,” Serrette said, explaining that Walcott is still contending with an ankle injury, so that it might have influenced his decision not to throw again unless necessary.

Serrette added that being selective about the meets in which they compete had contributed significantly to the success of Walcott and female shot putter Cleopatra Borel. “So I think the programme they’re working with is working. If you look at Cleo (Borel), she’s done a 19.26 as well, so they continue to perform at a particular level coming closer to the World Championships. It’s now for them to hold that going into the Pan Am and the World Championships and repeat, or even do better.”

Leader of the People’s National Movement, Dr Keith Rowley, also weighed in on Twitter: “Congratulations Keshorn Walcott on winning gold for T&T @ IAAF Diamond League. What an inspiration to young people!”

While Walcott was ruling over his experienced rivals, it was a disappointing day for the other TT athletes at the Athletissima.

Running in lane six, Keston Bledman finished fifth in the star-studded 100 metres. American Justin Gatlin beat the filed convincingly in 9.75 seconds, while Jamaican Asafa Powell was adjudged to have taken second place after clocking the same time (9.92) as Tyson Gay.

Bledman and Mike Rodgers also dead-heated at 10.03, but the American was adjudged to have been ahead. World champion Jehue Gordon finished eighth and last in the 400 metre Hurdles, running a very slow 50.07 seconds.

On Twitter after the race, a disappointed Gordon stated: “Things didn’t go the way I wanted it to tonight. Know that’s not the kind of shape I’m in but God is good. Once it’s his will it will happen.”

American Bershawn Jackson took the gold in 48.71 seconds, with South African Van Zyl (48.92) and Russia’s Denis Kudryavtsev (49.01) taking the minor placings.

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