media_artricles :: 2015

WORTH THE WAIT

Silver for record-breaking 4x4 men

Lalonde Gordon vowed to not leave China without a medal. At no time during the IAAF World Championship men's 4x400 metres final at the Bird's Nest Stadium here in Beijing, yesterday, was the Trinidad and Tobago quartermiler in danger of cancelling his airline booking.

A superb front-running performance from Team T&T resulted in silver and a new national record, Renny Quow, Gordon, Deon Lendore and 400m finalist Machel Cedenio combining for a two minutes, 58.20 seconds clocking.

Gold went to United States in 2:57.82, with Great Britain clocking 2:58.51 for bronze. The Jamaicans were credited with the same time as the British but had to settle for fourth spot, the photo finish showing Martyn Rooney marginally ahead of Jamaican anchor Javon Francis.

Way back in 1964, T&T earned Olympic men's 4x400m bronze, establishing the country as a world power in the event. At London 2012, there was a second Olympic Games men's 4x4 medal for T&T—another bronze—nd seventh championship race appearance on the world's biggest sporting stage.

T&T competed in two IAAF World Championship men's 4x400m finals, in 2005 and 2013. Two medals have been earned at the IAAF World Indoor Championships--silver in 1993 and bronze in 2012. And in 2014, at the inaugural IAAF World Relays, T&T bagged bronze.

For a country with such a rich tradition in the 4x4, precious metal at the outdoor world championships was long in coming.

Yesterday, it was delivered, and the colour was silver. It was worth the wait!

In Saturday's qualifying round, Quow looked leg-weary on leadoff, and was in danger of losing his spot on the team for yesterday's final. But the technical staff showed faith in the 2009 World Championship 400m bronze medallist, and he repaid them with a great run.

“Yesterday (Saturday) was a tragedy,” Quow told the Express, “but I got my mind right, I got my body right. I have to thank Sharpie (massage therapist Ian Sharpe). He did a wonderful job getting me ready. I felt good out there, I felt I could have gone a lot faster.”

Quow was fast enough to hand T&T the lead at the first changeover.

Halfway through his second leg run, Gordon was second, but the 2012 Olympic 400m bronze medallist charged down the home straight to regain the lead for his country.

“Just wanted to go out there and put on a show,” Gordon declared. “I told them I wasn't leaving here without a medal, and I made sure I did that. I'm leaving with a medal! I had a lot of energy. I just wanted to put Deon ahead and give the fans a good show.”

Mission accomplished, Gordon's sizzling one-lap run maintaining pole position for T&T.

Lendore then kept the challengers at bay in the penultimate lap.

“We had a game plan,” the third leg runner explained. “Come out here and run from the front and do the best we could. We started out in the front and just continued doing it.”

Yes, the plan worked well, Cedenio receiving the baton ahead of 400m silver medallist LaShawn Merritt. The US anchor moved alongside his T&T counterpart, and shortly after Francis blew past them both. Merritt chased Francis, and passed him on the home straight.

Cedenio had a strong response as well, the 19-year-old quartermiler snapping up silver for T&T with his trademark finishing power.

“I felt confident about my past with Javon Francis,” Cedenio told the Express, in reference to his unbeaten record against the Jamaican in individual races, “but I think I let LaShawn Merritt get too far. He's a 43-point guy, I'm a 44 guy, so while it's not impossible, it would be hard for me to catch him. But we're still happy for the silver medal. I'm thrilled!”

The one silver and one bronze earned by T&T secured the country joint-22nd spot on the medal table with Bahamas and Ukraine. Kenya finished first with seven gold medals, six silver and three bronze, with Jamaica second (seven gold, two silver, three bronze), and United States third (six gold, six silver, six bronze).

With five top-eight finishes, T&T accumulated 22 points for joint-15th spot on the placing table with South Africa. The Americans finished first with 214 points, while Kenya (173) and Jamaica (132) were second and third, respectively.

T&T's medals at Beijing 2015 came on the last two days of the meet. Women's 4x1 bronze was bagged on Saturday. And in the very last event on the track at the global championship, the men's 4x4, silver was seized by a determined quartet, feeding off the electric atmosphere created by thousands of enthusiastic fans.

“The crowd, whoo! It's crazy out there. They make you want to run,” said Quow.

Cedenio, who came into the T&T team as a replacement for Jarrin Solomon after being rested in Saturday's qualifying round, expressed gratitude as well.

“I thank the people back home for supporting us. On social media they've been backing us 110 per cent. Thanks to the media. You guys came out here every day, and just kept pushing us and pushing us. That helped us. You guys came so far for us, and to go home without a medal would be tough. That would be disappointing for the fans.”

Quow, Gordon, Lendore and Cedenio certainly did not disappoint. They delivered big time, handing the entire nation an Independence Day gift.

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