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House and land
Kwame Laurence
Saturday, August 23rd 2008
DOWN THE STRETCH: Richard Thompson, second from right, runs the anchor leg for Trinidad and Tobago in the Beijing 2008 men's 4x100 metres final, at the Bird's Nest stadium, in Beijing, China, yesterday. T&T finished second in 38.06 seconds. Asafa Powell, centre front, anchored Jamaica to victory in a world record time of 37.10 seconds. -Photo: DEXTER PHILIPThere was a Carnival-style jump-up on the homestraight at the Bird's Nest stadium, here in Beijing, China, yesterday.
But there was no need for a music truck, for Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender and Richard Thompson were making music of their own.
"Yeah, we were singing," Thompson explained. "It's a song Emmanuel Callender composed and he always has all of us singing it. It's a song called 'Wine and Jam'. But instead of 'Wine and Jam,' we were saying this one for the Prime Minister, 'House and Land.'"
The hearty laugh that followed Thompson's explanation in no way diminishes the debt of gratitude owed to the men's 4x100 metres relay team by all of Trinidad and Tobago.
The T&T quartet clocked 38.06 seconds to strike silver in yesterday's Olympic Games sprint relay final. Jamaica produced a 37.10 seconds world record run to grab gold.
"Definitely a great accomplishment," Thompson told the Express after the race, "for us to cop our first (Olympic) 4x1 medal ever. We didn't have a doubt that we would be able to come in here and medal. Obviously, we came in with the intention to win but it was a great run by Jamaica and we can't complain coming second to them. So we're definitely celebrating right now, and we hope the rest of T&T is pleased with our performance."
Yesterday's sprint relay silver was the second runner-up finish for Torpedo Thompson at Beijing 2008. Last Saturday, the 23-year-old sprinter was second in the 100m final.
"The 100 silver was sweet, but I think the feeling of winning a silver medal with the team is much sweeter. It shows it's not just me or it's not just an individual accomplishment, but we are able to come together as a team and represent Trinidad and Tobago. That unity and togetherness was there.
"We just want to dedicate this one to the entire Trinidad and Tobago, all the supporters, the fans and everyone who has been supporting-red, white and black, this one is for you. We thank you for the support throughout the 2008 season."
Team T&T earned silver with two alternates, making the achievement even more impressive. First, Bledman came in for the injured Brown, the 20-year-old sprinter running in both Thursday's qualifying round and yesterday's final. And Callender made his Olympic debut in the championship race, replacing Aaron Armstrong, who ran the third leg on Thursday but was forced out of the final by a hamstring injury.
"We could have doubted each other when Darrel got injured," said Thompson, "and when Aaron Armstrong got injured. There were so many obstacles in the way, but we had faith in God and belief in ourselves, and we were able to pull it together.
"We brought two reserves here in case of any injuries and we knew that they would be able to step up to the plate if they had to. I had faith in them."
Thompson said the goal is to turn silver into gold at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships, in Berlin, Germany.
"We're hoping by next year at the World Champs we can step out to the plate and beat Jamaica. I made a big improvement from last year, Marc has been running much better than last year--all these guys as well, so as long as we continue to show that improvement there's no telling what can happen."
The Beijing 2008 double silver medallist made an appeal to the youth of the nation.
"I just want to shout out and reach out to all the young ones, to be positive and understand the importance of an education and sport, and to just stay away from drugs and violence and that kind of thing," Thompson ended. "Do something positive with your life."
Kwame Laurence
Saturday, August 23rd 2008
DOWN THE STRETCH: Richard Thompson, second from right, runs the anchor leg for Trinidad and Tobago in the Beijing 2008 men's 4x100 metres final, at the Bird's Nest stadium, in Beijing, China, yesterday. T&T finished second in 38.06 seconds. Asafa Powell, centre front, anchored Jamaica to victory in a world record time of 37.10 seconds. -Photo: DEXTER PHILIPThere was a Carnival-style jump-up on the homestraight at the Bird's Nest stadium, here in Beijing, China, yesterday. But there was no need for a music truck, for Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender and Richard Thompson were making music of their own.
"Yeah, we were singing," Thompson explained. "It's a song Emmanuel Callender composed and he always has all of us singing it. It's a song called 'Wine and Jam'. But instead of 'Wine and Jam,' we were saying this one for the Prime Minister, 'House and Land.'"
The hearty laugh that followed Thompson's explanation in no way diminishes the debt of gratitude owed to the men's 4x100 metres relay team by all of Trinidad and Tobago.
The T&T quartet clocked 38.06 seconds to strike silver in yesterday's Olympic Games sprint relay final. Jamaica produced a 37.10 seconds world record run to grab gold.
"Definitely a great accomplishment," Thompson told the Express after the race, "for us to cop our first (Olympic) 4x1 medal ever. We didn't have a doubt that we would be able to come in here and medal. Obviously, we came in with the intention to win but it was a great run by Jamaica and we can't complain coming second to them. So we're definitely celebrating right now, and we hope the rest of T&T is pleased with our performance."
Yesterday's sprint relay silver was the second runner-up finish for Torpedo Thompson at Beijing 2008. Last Saturday, the 23-year-old sprinter was second in the 100m final.
"The 100 silver was sweet, but I think the feeling of winning a silver medal with the team is much sweeter. It shows it's not just me or it's not just an individual accomplishment, but we are able to come together as a team and represent Trinidad and Tobago. That unity and togetherness was there.
"We just want to dedicate this one to the entire Trinidad and Tobago, all the supporters, the fans and everyone who has been supporting-red, white and black, this one is for you. We thank you for the support throughout the 2008 season."
Team T&T earned silver with two alternates, making the achievement even more impressive. First, Bledman came in for the injured Brown, the 20-year-old sprinter running in both Thursday's qualifying round and yesterday's final. And Callender made his Olympic debut in the championship race, replacing Aaron Armstrong, who ran the third leg on Thursday but was forced out of the final by a hamstring injury.
"We could have doubted each other when Darrel got injured," said Thompson, "and when Aaron Armstrong got injured. There were so many obstacles in the way, but we had faith in God and belief in ourselves, and we were able to pull it together.
"We brought two reserves here in case of any injuries and we knew that they would be able to step up to the plate if they had to. I had faith in them."
Thompson said the goal is to turn silver into gold at the 2009 World Track and Field Championships, in Berlin, Germany.
"We're hoping by next year at the World Champs we can step out to the plate and beat Jamaica. I made a big improvement from last year, Marc has been running much better than last year--all these guys as well, so as long as we continue to show that improvement there's no telling what can happen."
The Beijing 2008 double silver medallist made an appeal to the youth of the nation.
"I just want to shout out and reach out to all the young ones, to be positive and understand the importance of an education and sport, and to just stay away from drugs and violence and that kind of thing," Thompson ended. "Do something positive with your life."
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