T&T’s Thompson sounds Daegu warning
Published: Monday | August 15, 2011 0 Comments
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC):
A lifetime-best dash from Richard Thompson made the men’s 100 metres at this year’s World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, even more mouth-watering.
The 26-year-old sprinter Thompson raised eyebrows when he scorched 9.85 seconds on the first day of the Trinidad & Tobago national championships on Saturday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Thompson, silver medallist over the distance at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, showed his class, finishing ahead of Keston Bledman (10.06 secs) and Aaron Armstrong (10.07) in a high-quality field that also included Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Darrel Brown, and Rondel Sorrillo.
New national record
The result meant that Thompson, also known as ‘Torpedo’, established a new national record in the 100m, eclipsing Ato Boldon’s 13-year-old mark of 9.86, as well as a new meet and stadium record.
“The national record was not the goal coming into the race today, but I’m very glad I was able to achieve it,” said Thompson, whose victory comes against the backdrop of the National Association of Athletics Administrations turning down his request to skip the meet.
"This is just a bonus. Sometimes in life, when you’re trying too hard, you’re not able to accomplish it. That was the case in the past.
“I was trying too hard to get under 10 seconds, and this weekend, when I was most relaxed, I was able to achieve it. I’m just thankful to God, family, friends, and fans for coming out to support. I was able to feed off the energy from the crowd.”
Before a crowd of 6,000-plus, Thompson benefited from a sound start, and had the race wrapped up at the 60-metre mark
“God does everything for a reason. If I didn’t come home this weekend, I would not have gotten the national record this weekend. I’m thankful for the 9.85, and most of all, coming out injury free, and qualifying for Daegu.”