Mark Pouchet
Wednesday, July 26th 2006
It was a time for nostalgia, humour and recognition for the man who has won Trinidad and Tobago’s only Olympic gold medal to date.
On Monday night, exactly 30 years after that resonating and memorable victory in the 100 metres at the Montreal Olympics, Hasely Crawford was presented with a gift by the Government, corporate citizens and the public of T&T amounting to $380,000 in total.
That was in addition to the $60,000 the National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB) had awarded him earlier in the day and, according to chairman of proceedings Anthony Harford, more money was on the way for the local hero as donations were still coming in.
At the CLICO Hospitality Suite at the Queen’s Park Oval, an emotional Crawford credited his motivation and good management as responsible for his golden performance on July 24, 1976.
“I want to say this for the youth,” he commented, “you have to find that driving force. For me, it was poverty. But it doesn’t have to be that for you. But whatever it is, find it because it will propel you to compete and be your best.”
Crawford also hailed the contributions of Dr Basil Ince, Alexander Chapman, deceased physiotherapist PG Wilson and Dr Nizam Mohammed, who he said knew what to do and to say at the right moments.
“Without that team, I could not have done what I did,” he said, before alluding to the situation of rewarding all the people involved in the Soca Warriors’ effort at the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany
Earlier, a ten-minute presentation gave the audience-which included President George Maxwell Richards and his wife Jean Ramjohn-Richards, as well as Minister of Sport Roger Boynes-a look back at Crawford’s childhood and how he got involved in athletics, before tracing his career briefly up to his Olympic gold medal-winning effort in Canada.
The video clip also showed his overwhelming reception on returning to Trinidad and Tobago and an address from then Prime Minister Eric Williams, who stated that the Americans had put an astronaut on the moon but that Crawford had put T&T on the world map because “we put a man from this country that no astronaut can catch”.
It also involved an interview with the man himself that disclosed his unique motivational techniques in the waiting room before that fateful Olympic 100-metre dash.
Crawford described his intimidating tactics employed against Russian defending champion Valery Borzov.
“Borzov didn’t understand English, of course, him being a Russian. But I went up to him and said with some venom, ‘Look yuh white honkey, I am going to do what I was supposed to do four years ago in Munich and beat yuh.’ And he just stared back at me,” Crawford recalled, referring to the 1972 Games when he pulled up lame in the 100 Final with a left hamstring injury.
Crawford was also presented with a hamper by Guardian Holdings, as well as the running outfit, which was framed, that he wore in that historic final in Montreal.
Earlier, President Richards, Boynes, Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee president Larry Romany and National Amateur Athletics Association president Ken Doldron had, in brief addresses, all sung the praises of the man responsible for one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most memorable moments.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_sports?id=160988167