T&T's first Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford is encouraging this country's 17 athletes competing at the Paris Olympic Games in France, to persevere in their quest to represent T&T at the biggest sporting event in the world.
Crawford told Guadian Media, as he departed for Paris yesterday (Wednesday), that this country's sporting ambassadors must be willing to go beyond the pain barrier.
"Nobody put a medal there for you. You have to earn it, first and foremost and I believe once you qualify for the Olympics you have a chance. The question is if you have 'belly' to go down inside of you to manage that stress. It is how badly you want it. If you are prepared to take that jamming, that pain, to win it," said Crawford.
Five days since the 2024 Olympic Games opened on the River Seine in the French capital, T&T has yet to win a medal. However, Crawford is backing cyclist Nicholas Paul and sprinter Jereem Richards to get on the medal podium.
"The cyclist should win a medal. I feel that he has a good chance. I think he could go down in that 'chamber'," said the 1976 men's 100m Olympic champion.
Paul is set to compete in the men's sprint and keirin and Richards in the men's 400-metre event.
Crawford, the former national 100m and 200m record holder, is cautioning Richards to run intelligently in the early rounds of the one-lap sprint.
"If he runs smart. (However), if he goes out there in the first round and runs 44 he is wasting time. He should just run to qualify. He has three times (rounds). Clearly, he would have to run a little faster in the semifinals to run for a (good) lane (in the finals) which is so important. I think if he gets (lane) four, five, or six (in the finals), he could cause some trouble."
Crawford, who was also a finalist in the 200m at the 1976 Olympics and the 100m four years earlier in Munich, Germany, said Richards is growing in the quartermiler event.
"He is still learning to run the 400m. (He should have been running the 400m) a long time (now). He can not afford to give those guys (his competitors) a step (a lead) in the 200m. Two years ago, I told him to run the 400m or work on his start. He can't be running back on the field at this level."
Richards sped into the global spotlight after taking bronze in the 200m at the 2017 World Outdoor Track and Field Championships and 200m gold at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. However, he debuted at the 400m in 2022 and struck gold when he captured the World Indoor title in Serbia the same year. One year later he landed the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games top spot and reached the semi-final round at the World Outdoor Championships in Hungary last year. He achieved the Paris Olympics qualifying standards for both the 200m and 400m and was unsure which event he will contest. However, he made his decision to vie for gold in the 400m after lowering his personal best in the event to a sparkling time of 44.18 at the London Diamond League less than one week before the start of the Paris Olympics. He finished in third spot.
Crawford reviewed Richards' impressive London run.
"He is still young running the 400m. We saw what happened when he got lane eight (at the London Diamond League on July 19). If he was a seasoned quartermiler (in that race from lane eight) but he is now learning the event and he was against the top men in the world."
Crawford was invited to Paris by the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) and said he would spur on the first-timers on the team.
"I am going to support the athletes, especially the 4x100m girls. It will be hard for them (to win a medal) but I like what the NAAA did. They pick young people who really look encouraging."
The track and field contingent includes three 18-year-old twin sisters Sole and Sanaa Frederick and Jaden Marchan. The Frederick are part of T&T's women's 4x100m team along with 21-year-old Leah Bertrand. Marchan is among five in the men's 4x400m pool with 21-year-old Shakeem Mc Kay.
Devin Augustine, who is also 21, will be hoping to emulate Crawford's golden feat in Paris when he lined in the men's 100m. Augustine, the 2019 Carifta Boys Under-17 gold medallist, will be making his Olympic debut and Crawford is advising him to dig deep.
"The key is that he is young. This will serve him well for experience. Once you are there it is up to him. Once you want to go down in that chamber and fight."
Crawford also won medals at the 1975 Pam American Games (silver-100m) and the 1970 (bronze-100m) and 1978 (silver-4x100m, bronze-100) Commonwealth Games.
