Richard Thompson sets new 100m national record in Port-of-Spain: Trinidad and Tobago Championships
Richard Thompson, the sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago, known as Richard ‘Torpedo’ Thompson for marking an impressive finish of 9.85m, has emerged as the fastest sprinter in the history of the country.
Running at the inaugural day of the Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championships, held in the famous Hasely Crawford Stadium on Saturday, August 13, the 26-year-old sprinter annihilated the formidable field and finished race at the top of the all-time
list of the country.
The previous record belonged to Ato Boldon, the four-time Olympic medal winner, who, for carving out his dominance over the track, had stopped the clock in 9.86 seconds. However, appearing on the track to mark a new history, Thompson set a new sprint standard
for his country as he not only accomplished the hat-trick of National Championships successes, but also clinched the long standing national record.
The second finish on the podium was claimed by Keston Bledman, who crossed the finishing line in 10.06 seconds, just ahead of his strenuous rival, Aaron Armstrong, who clocked 10.07 seconds finish. Next in the line were Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender and
Darrel Brown, who finished their races in 10.09, 10.12 and 10.13 seconds, respectively. For covering the desired distance in 10.17 seconds, Rondel Sorrillo settled for a seventh place finish.
A 9.85 seconds’ finish is indeed a breath taking performance, for which the silver medal winner of the 2008 Beijing Olympics has improved his ranking on the world list for 2011, where he shares the fourth position with American runner, Mike Rodgers. However,
in the all-time list, the runner stands at the ninth position.
Commenting upon his success, Thompson, whose primary goal on the track was to make it to the World Championships in Daegu, said, “The national record was not the goal coming into the race today, but I’m very glad I was able to achieve it. This is just a
bonus. Sometimes in life, when you’re trying hard you’re not able to accomplish it. That was the case in the past.” While running in the event, he said that he was quite comfortable and relaxed.
Looking content over the achievement, he said, “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. I knew, coming into the race, Bledman was going to be my main competition. When
I reached 60, and I was ahead of him, I knew I had him.”
Attributing all his success to the blessings of God, the formidable runner said that God had done it for a reason, and had he not been there at home at the weekend, marking this record was not possible. Thus, he was not only thankful for a superb 9.85 seconds
finish, but also for an injury-free event that also brought him a ticket to Daegu.
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