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Keshie, Keshie, Coo… Congratulations Trinidad and Tobago, you have a bronze!
After an eternity in the waiting room, there was finally some good news from the Rio de Janeiro delivery room. And, once more, Dr Keshorn Walcott got the job done.
A champion at the London 2012 Olympics, Walcott was third tonight to get the two island republic on the podium for the first time in Rio. And not a minute too soon, as he is the country’s last participant at the 2016 Games.
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)
Anybody else spent the whole day trying to find out if the IOC gives a Fair Play Trophy? That was just Mr Live Wire? Whatever. This is much better anyway!
Just like four years ago, Walcott’s big throw was his second one. In London, he was already ahead of the pack when he managed a 84.58 metre toss to let the world know he wasn’t playing around.
Tonight, his second throw of 85.38 put him into the bronze medal spot behind Kenya’s Julius Yego (88.24) and Germany’s Thomas Rohler (87.40).
The leadership spot changed hands at the death, as Rohler threw 90.30 to go ahead of Yeg, who had retired hurt with an ankle injury by then. But Walcott had already done enough for by then.
Gold? Nah. Trinidad and Tobago can’t afford that right now.
If Walcott had repeated as Olympic gold medalist, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley would have looked like a stingy SOB if he didn’t handle him at least as well as Marlene pampered Michael Carew.
Walcott snared bronze with a throw of 85.38 metres.
(Copyright Franck Fife/AFP 2016/Wired868)
But then if the PNM did give Keshie the hook up, it would have been a coin toss to see if Watson Duke or the sugar cane workers erupted first—granted the Duke of Hazard hasn’t quite been his old bombastic self since he was accused of forcibly using a meeting about lay offs to get laid.
In any case, bronze is definitely doable for our economy. Maybe Keithos could give him shares at Unit Trust, a diplomatic passport, free travel with CAL and the option to name his own Sport Minister.
Mr Live Wire will sip something strong tonight and give a toast to Keshorn. But we not going through this nail biting business again in Tokyo 2020, eh.
Anil Roberts, take a big steups! The way your money was spending as Sport Minister, we swear it was Rajaee Ali you were sponsoring to represent us in the Olympics.
At the very least, the Commissioner of Prisons should have tried to get us our money’s worth and sent Rajaee to Rio to get us a medal in shooting self.
I mean, with all due respect to the excellent Roger Daniel, does anyone really believe the best marksman in the country is a soldier? Do they have trials for that sport in Enterprise and Morvant? Jes asking…
And Brian Lewis, you swore that the TTOC serious about this 10 gold by 2024 initiative. And then allyuh turned around and made a circus of the team by making creative email tendering, cut throat diplomacy and moral hurdling a legitimate Olympic sport.
What is not discouraged is condoned, brother Brian. So I’m waiting to see what is in store for the TTGF.
And Minister Mohawk, sport is not fun and games and selfies. So let us put things in place to support athletes and administrators as well as to keep them honest, and remove the ramshackle atmosphere around the industry at present.
Maybe we can begin by having a 2018 World Cup qualifier that comes off without an embarrassing power outage, for starters.
Yet, even as we look forward, let us take a moment to bask in the wonder of our Toco man-child: Keshorn Walcott.
“He come from a country district all the way up north, he hobby is throwing javelin and drinking fish broth…”
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One world record throw by 24-year-old Trinidad and Tobago Paralympic athlete, Akeem Stewart, and, hopefully, an equally seismic blow on Read more
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Mr. Live Wire is an avid news reader who translates media reports for persons who can handle the truth. And satire. Unlike Jack Nicholson, he rarely yells.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-08-22/no-unity-rio
Bronze could Never be better than gold. Ask Keshorn. He got both.
Who said bronze is better than gold?
Lasana Liburd Bronze feels like Gold
Everyone knows that gold is better. Doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate bronze which is still a great accomplishment. So let me stop you on whatever road you planned to go down there Ian Gooding
Mr Livewire???????
what is thissss….lasana allyuh good we !!!
Don’t understand how some thought London was a fluke when he came into London as the World Junior Champ. There were some hiccups after but he brought in other medals after and joined the 90m club. Before last night KW was podium pedigree. Take a look at how some rewards their athletes https://www.yahoo.com/gma/video/united-states-remains-top-olympic-154434982.html
AS for those who are not satisfied with bronze…..We all know that gold, silver and bronze is always measured by how much work you put in…..(sarcasm here smh)
Well it started in 2012 with what Keshorn needed to do to regain the Gold Medal in 2016 and what we could do to help. In pragmatic terms, this did not happen. What we, including or especially Keshorn, should and must find out is why and use these learnings to determine what must be done for him to win the Gold medal in 2020. The emotional roller-coaster must run on the rails of fact, analysis, science and experience. Keshorn has to want to win in 2016 and learn from both his 2012 and 2016 experiences.
Keshorn was quoted in the Express saying they did not leave T&T as a Team, This was quite evident , I agree wit those who stated that the Thema Williams and Njisan debacles had a psychological effect on the entire team. the comments by Richard Thompson and others appear to me guarded in what they said. I believe someof them some may want to continue for 2020, and are careful in what was said. But even Stevie Wonder could have seen that there was a level of unpreparedness of the team.Did they have exposure to competitions, how much training did the relay teams have together. A post mortem is needed regarding Sport Administrators, sporting organizations, the Ministry and other stakeholders meet and strategise for the future, because Njisane has joined along list of athletes, batsmen, footballers etc forced to resigns prematurely because of frustration. You really think Keron Clement 400 metres Gold winner hurdler, would have won Gold if he had represented T%T. Here everything is a bacchanal and the only loser are the Sportsman. One of the things Mr clement said , was ‘I chose the US, because I wanted a place with the best facilites to train. You feel he knew what he was saying. We eh ready yet. Its time to change. some say start from the primary school, yeh right but there are athletes who have recently come back from Carifta and Commonwealth Games and are frustrated,for lack of support. Some have given up and are in UWI, because of the frustration and no assistance and have abandoned their dreams. Those in authority are frustrating the youths.
listening to i95.5 Ralph Maraj berating Keshorn Walcott for not winning Gold. That’s T&T condemnation. we are all sad that our athletes did not perform well. No one has asked what was the role of the Ministry of Sports or the Sportt company where millions were spent. How much was made available to the Athletes, what were the training like, were facilities made available to them.
Does Ralph Maraj know that you can practice long and hard and execute perfectly and STILL not win? Because there are hundreds of athletes working just as hard and the marginal difference between first to eight can be so slight?
I think that is just ignorance.
Smh
I keep wondering on whose insistence he is on the station, because all he does is criticize and feels he knows about every topic. The reality is the athletes ran the qualifying distance to get to Rio,but clearly many things went wrong , if not for the problems in the lane , T&T men ran an excellent race. another thing if we as citizens were more vocals on issues, successive governments could not get away with the perpetual lack of transparency and corruption,but we stay quiet and now the team did not perform at its best we all have a voice. T&t non loyalist, we only like winners
We did underperform. We accept that. But Keshorn certainly didn’t. He delivered. That throw was better than the one that gold him gold in London.
It is just that two people did even better in Rio.
He could have sympathised but what basis could he have to berate?
Absolutely brilliant, Lasana. Satire at its best!
Thanks Marcia 🙂
I’m glad he earned a medal for TTO. Question is… What needs to be done to take back the Javelin Olympics Championship in 2020 Japan Olympics?
In the history of javelin, I think only one person has managed to win the Olympic gold eight years after their first title.
We have to recognise that these things are not easy at all. You can prepare perfectly, execute perfectly and still not win.
So we can try but we cannot take anything for granted as others are trying just as hard or harder.
Not only that. The Stadium was wet and Keshorn seemed to be slipping. He kept pointing to his leg and telling his coach something so I am not sure but something was not right so anything can happen.
🙂
Well there might still be a Gold for the relay team. So money might still have to pass.
However, ah have dis funny feelin’ that the jefes will do all they can to not take away a gold from bolt so he can maintain the triple-triple. I hope T&T is on the lookout and ensure we get what is due to that relay team.
Relay team? I thought we were disqualified in the 4×4
The 2012, 4×100 team, which placed 4th, are now silver medalists and are awaiting a decision on whether Gold will be awarded after a failed test by one of the Jamaican runners.
If the decision goes our way then Bolt goes from 9 golds to 8 and falls behind Carl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi.
I don’t want to nitpick… But the Guardian’s opening paragraph with “failed to repeat” really seemed out of kilter with how happy we were to get ANY medal.
Does that mean I’m glorifying “mediocrity” too? :-/
Hogwash. Keshorn showed that his last medal was not a fluke with his first throw so he is well in his league. World class.
Much better headline than the Guardian’s dotishness this morning. Anyways I pop meh bottle of champagne as to medal in two consecutive Olympics is a huge achievement and this fat lady was celebrating like mad. Showed he’s not a fluke which many ppl thought he was but a damn serious athlete and one to contend with. Congrats Keshorn. You’ve done your country proud again.
On point, as usual, Mr. Live Wire!
Sometimes wen peltin d ripe mangoes, d green ones does fall..so we go take dem n make ah chow…WELL DONE AND CONGRATS KESHORN WALCOTT!!!
The greatest Track & Field athlete in the history of the Sport.
https://www.facebook.com/eveningstandard/videos/1227908640586128/
Interesting and makes sense..’bronze for the economy’..
The neighbor saying,”well, we avoid ah blank, and if Jamaica could sell we some ah dey medals..”
Last O in London, we picked up four medals, including Keshorn’s Gold…in this O, we had a few finalists including Lee Ahye in the 100 and 200m…
For a dot on the international map, T&T has now won 19 medals since 1948…but Jamaica is a dot also…
A deep analysis is needed…
We reap what we have sown…i think this was mentioned somewhere…to the future now…
Minsiter Mohawk. #deadin
Ok….2016 Olymplcs done and gone….2020 Tokyo is upon us…what are we going to do differently….well Mr Livewire take it away….lol….some people really good yes….eh…
The questions about what “coulda, woulda” happen if we had invested the life sport money in preparation have arisen in social media several times. Given that injecting cash at any stage doesn’t change behaviors I guess the following (1) we might have won 2 medals not one (2) the money would have been stolen in another way (3) thema would still stay home (4) several more high priced officials would have gone with their mistresses and misters. Etc. My point is that injecting cash will not change the way we behave and lead/manage. For example, we invested close to a $1 billion at Lara stadium and it not done and money gone.
In summary, I’m after systems and changes that will reshape the way we behave, the way we manage, lead, govern and that will produce consistent high quality results. And I assure all that when we fix the “how we do things” we will spend less money and get better results . Fact is NOTHING is working – not just sport .
Throughout this Olympics I kept wondering what would have happened if the Government has invested $400 million in their training and preparation rather than Lifesport.
I think the issue is bigger than TTOC, TTGF, TTFF, NAAA, etc. All receive GORTT $$ and underperform consistently and repeatedly. That is a symptom. Right? Systemic, right? So Let’s start with asking, “what works well and consistently in TT?”. Should we expect more from our athletes (whom I’m convinced do their best given the shituation) when little to nothing else works?
If we are serious we would terminate the services of Brian Lewis and the TTOC members, as we are now sure they are selling us a dream for 2024. They have adequately demonstrated to the citizens that they are poor administrators. We must waste no more time, we have to act with expediency.
Mr live wire rel chuppid oui lol Jones oui
??
Congrats Keshorn
I have to say that I was among the doubters who felt that the London 2012 gold was a fluke. But Keshorn put that notion to rest with his two 85m+ performances in Rio and, to quote Relator, “take a little shame from out we face.”
We could follow the Express’ lead and cue “Phenomenal:” “Toco does gih mih mih powers.” But that’s probably a little much so we have to settle for a little less and remind people for whom “just a chink in the armour is enough, enough to lose a friend,” to “Rally.”
Ten gold medals by 2024 is a mountain to climb. But it’s an unattainable goal unless we are ALL pulling in the same direction.
And even then…
This Article have me in Stitches!! I don’t know if to be Happy or Sad…..
I could see the funny side of it though ????
Quick on the draw / keys bai
#GoodRead
Lol true! When we had money to burn we could have showered him with gifts. This time round a spanking new javelin and some Nike gear might be all they could afford?
Hahaha!
Tocopherol can do with some proper sporting facilities to produce more athletes of his calibre and I am sure he can do with a diplomatic passport, free travel and a good job.
Sorry folks, I meant Toco
That’s what I’m saying. Bet he more deserving than most who have a diplomatic passport right now. And we can afford that.
We can more than afford that.
T&T can’t afford gold right now. Ask Imbert!
Thank David Rudder for heading out to Rio with the blue soap and cocoyea broom?. Seriously though I knew Keshorn would make sure we didn’t just come home with accreditation badges and certificates of participation. He kept his cool and delivered. I’m actually just as happy for the bronze as I would have been with a gold. I always knew whatever Keshorn delivered would feel like a consolation prize. The weight of an entire country on his shoulders and he kept it together. That feels just like a gold to me yes!
Well done, Keshorn! Brilliant article Lasana – many issues addressed for those paying attention and simply indicative of the callalloo nation we are.
Yeah. We gotta get a peep of the bigger picture in there. But will we bother? I sure hope so
“Somewhere in Trinidad Defosto just cancelled a studio session”
Oh gaddoye. Comment of the Year.
hahahaha
Love eet
Whoop whoop! 🙂