media_artricles :: 2013

I wasn’t expecting 84, says Olympic champion

Walcott pleasantly surprised

A hush fell over the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on Friday night, as Keshorn Walcott prepared for his first competition throw in nearly eight months. When the reigning Olympic men’s javelin champion completed his run-up and unleashed the spear, his supporters—some 5,000 of them—watched in awe as it sailed through the air, landing well beyond the 80-metre marker.

Thrilled with Walcott’s first round throw at the inaugural TnT Elite Twilight Games, the crowd cheered in approval. But the body language of the 20-year-old told the story of an athlete who was not completely satisfied with his effort.

“Technically, it wasn’t the best,” Walcott told the Express, afterwards. “The run-up was good, but coming down to the last phases it was off.

He was very satisfied, however, when he realised he had produced the second best throw of his career—84.39 metres.

“I didn’t know it went out to that distance. I was a bit surprised because it didn’t look that far. Going out there, first competition for the year, I wasn’t expecting 84. But getting so close to my personal best, for me, signals 2013 is off to a great start.”

Walcott’s winning throw was just 19 centimetres shy of his 84.58m Trinidad and Tobago record. It was that huge effort that had earned the Toco thrower Olympic gold, last August.

Walcott said there was no sense of disappointment in getting so close to the record.

“The record wasn’t on my mind. I don’t like to think about records going into the competition, because you tend to forget what you need to do, your technique. And it’s all about technique. I know once I do everything right this season, once I keep working hard, better distances are going to come.”

Walcott said the attention he received at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday was far different to what he had experienced while competing at home in the past.

“More eyes were on me, but knowing that the eyes were supporters, knowing that they all came out just to see me throw, see the other athletes perform, that was really good. They came out to support. It’s the most people I’ve seen in the Stadium for a good while, including Nationals. Hopefully, it continues throughout the year for some of the other meets.”

On Friday night, Walcott fouled in the second and third rounds, before passing on his last three attempts. But all he needed was one throw, the 84.39m effort earning him a huge cushion on second-placed Shakiel Waithe, the Zenith Tobago athlete throwing 62.22m. Toco TAFAC’s Hakim Smith (58.91m) was third.

Walcott is fifth on the 2013 world performance list with his impressive 84.39m throw. Finland’s Tero Pitkamaki leads the world with an 86.40m effort. Japan’s Yukifumi Murakami (85.96m), Russia’s Dmitriy Tarabin (85.63m) and Cuba’s Guillermo Martínez (85.59m) are second, third and fourth, respectively.

Walcott was troubled by a back injury in 2012, but is confident it will not be a factor in 2013.

“I can say I’m 90 per cent. I still feel a little tightness in my back, but the injury is not there, just some minor things. Hopefully, I’ll be healthy throughout the season.”

The reigning world junior champion said he was pleased with his off-season preparations.

“The training has been better. I’ve done a lot of minor things that I need, including core work. And seeing that I’m a senior, and starting later, I had more time to prepare.”

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