Ato Boldon reflects »

Ato Boldon reflects

"The best Olympic performance in my lifetime by a Trinidad and Tobago team." This assessment was made by quadruple Olympic medallist Ato Boldon, who is at the 2008 Olympic Games here in Beijing, China as part of NBC's track and field commentary team.

T&T claimed two medals at Beijing 2008. Richard Thompson seized silver in the men's 100 metres dash, and then teamed up with Keston Bledman, Marc Burns and Emmanuel Callender for a medal of the same colour in the 4x100m relay. The four sprinters were presented with their well-earned precious metal, at the Bird's Nest stadium, yesterday.

In addition to T&T's two silvers, Burns finished seventh in the 100m final and Renny Quow copped the same spot in the men's 400m championship race. "We told the public in town," Boldon recalled, "that this was the best team that we had sent in a long time, and I'm just glad they delivered because there were a lot of critics who said, 'yeah, you say that all the time,' but I've never said it before.

"This is one of the best Olympic teams we've sent. It's unfortunate that we're only coming home with two (medals) because they were capable of even more." Though injured sprinters Darrel Brown and Aaron Armstrong were not in the T&T line-up in Friday' sprint relay final, T&T clocked 38.06 seconds to finish second. Bledman and Callender were the replacements for Brown and Armstrong.

The Jamaica quartet of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, double Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell struck gold in a world record  37.10 seconds. "We came in with a different mentality," Boldon said. "This wasn't a 'leh we hang on and see'. We knew that we would start as one of the favourites. We knew we were dealing with the Jamaican juggernaut, but we can't worry about that.

"They made us proud," the retired sprinter continued, "because they took the stick around. And I was especially proud to see Richard take us from in the back, and actually was running down Asafa, according to my replay. It shows me that my recommendation to put him on anchor was the right one.

"Richard Thompson is going to be anchor of this team, I think, for the rest of his career--he earned it. This is something that I saw in him way back in May." In the Beijing 2008 100m final, Thompson clocked a personal best 9.89 seconds for second spot, behind Bolt's 9.69 world record run. Boldon, who is part of Thompson's management team, put his compatriot's silver success as well as the relay team's performance into perspective.

"I know what they feel like because this is Atlanta revisited for me, where you run as well as you could on the night but somebody sets an astronomical record and you have to be happy with that." At the 1996 Olympic Games, in Atlanta, USA, Boldon bagged bronze in two world record races. In the 200m, American Michael Johnson triumphed in an amazing 19.32 seconds, while in the 100m, Canadian Donovan Bailey emerged victorious in 9.84.

"We have this 'only gold medallist' thing, and everybody else has gotten 'the other medals'. It took a world record to beat Richard in the hundred and it took a world record to beat him in the 4x100-metre relay."

There was also a world record in the Beijing 2008 men's 200m final, Bolt clocking an incredible 19.30 seconds to erase Johnson's mark from the books. In an online conversation, on the eve of the half-lap final, with men's 400m hurdles world record holder and 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medallist Kevin Young, Boldon accurately predicted Bolt's winning time.

"My numbers were off. I said 10.05 and 9.25 for 19.30. He actually ran 9.98 and 9.32 for 19.30. I am in absolute awe of what he has been able to do." Boldon has been receiving good reviews for his work with NBC at Beijing 2008. But he has also been criticised for saying that Bolt should not have celebrated until after he had crossed the finish line in the 100m final.

"It has been my favourite Olympics, even though I'm not competing, and despite the controversy. I've been in controversy since I was 18 years old. That doesn't bother me, and that does not take anything away from what a great Games this has been. And not to mention, there is a new world order in track and field, and it starts in Kingston (Jamaica)."

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge and quadruple Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks have also been critical of Bolt's pre-finish line celebrations. "They understand that this is a stage to be revered, and they know that this man is going to be the face of the sport for a long time, and they need to start from now to explain to him that the rules change when those five (Olympic) rings are present.

"You're having a lot of comments by a lot of people who don't get it," Boldon continued. "It's almost like going to church. The way you dress and the way you behave and the way you speak outside, as opposed to inside, church is different."

Boldon, who wore red at the Bird's Nest stadium on Friday in a not-so-subtle show of support for T&T's sprint relay men, said the Bolt controversy is all but over. "I think Jamaica is going to now be about celebrating their greatest Olympic performance ever." The Jamaicans captured six gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes at Beijing 2008.

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