With a focus on promoting Caribbean athletics globally, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is continuing with its 'Day in the Life' series featuring some of the best athletes in the region. In Trinidad, Guardian Sports Editor Sheldon Longley, who is with the IAAF team, caught up with one of the mentors of World Champion Jehue Gordon, Olympian Edwin Skinner. Skinner was Gordon's coach at Queen's Royal College, and also plays a role with his development with the Memphis Pioneers Track Club.
Edwin Skinner, one of the most respected men in T&T athletics, was a major source of inspiration for a young Jehue Gordon at Queen's Royal College (QRC).
One of the main reasons why Gordon chose QRC was because of the presence and influence of the former Olympic medalist for Trinidad & Tobago, who is also a founding member of the Memphis Pioneers Track Club of which Gordon is a member. Gordon made his transition from the Belmont Boys Secondary School to QRC in 2008, and became an overnight sensation in track and field, particularly the long hurdles.
Skinner, who serves as the boys coach at the school, said that track and field has always been a major part of the Queen's Royal Club tradition. He too passed through the doors of the famed Trinidadian institution, graduating in 1959. Five years later, he won Olympic bronze for Trinidad & Tobago, in the men's 4x400 meters (m) relay.
"QRC is one of the few high schools in Trinidad that participates in all of the track and field meets in the country. That is one of the reasons why we have been able to produce world-class athletes," said Skinner. "At QRC, we put a lot of emphasis on track and field. It was in 1962 when Trinidad & Tobago got its Independence, and two years later, we won Olympic bronze in the men's 4x400m relay. That was a proud moment for QRC, and for the entire nation."
Joining Skinner on that 1964 bronze medal winning team were Wendell Mottley, Kent Bernard and Edwin Roberts.
The list of Olympians who passed through the doors of QRC read like a who's who in T&T athletics. Emmanuel McDonald Bailey, Richard Thompson, Deon Lendore and Jehue Gordon are just a few. Bailey won Olympic bronze in the 100m in 1952; Thompson claimed silver in the both the 100m and 4x100m in 2008, and bronze in the 4x100m in 2012; Lendore was a part of the bronze medal winning 4x400m relay team at the 2012 London Olympics; and despite winning the world title last year, Gordon is still looking for his first Olympic medal.
Skinner, noted for the quarter-mile in his heyday, is particularly pleased with the progression of Trinidad & Tobago's 400m runners. The bronze medal run in London was just the second Olympic top three finish for Trinidad & Tobago in that event.
In 1964, Trinidad & Tobago was beaten out for the silver medal by sovereign Great Britain, and almost 50 years later, the twin island nation returned the favor on the country it once served by outlasting their mile relay team for the bronze. The host nation had to settle for fourth in the men's 4x400m relay at the London Olympics.
Skinner said that beating Great Britain on its home soil was a satisfying moment for him, and almost like revenge for what transpired in '64. Half of a century later, it's still fresh in his memory, as it happened yesterday.
Skinner will always remain partial to the men's 400m, but he took particular interest in Gordon in the 400m hurdles, serving as a mentor both on and off the track. He was there as Gordon's high school coach at QRC, and continues to be that driving force as an assistant coach with the Memphis Pioneers Track Club. It was under the guidance of Head Coach Dr. Ian Hypolite and Skinner, that Gordon galloped to the gold medal at the Moscow World Championships last year.
"Every now and then, before a major race, he will come and talk to me," said Skinner. "He shows me a lot of respect, and it is very rewarding from both sides. It feels good being there for him. I consider myself fortunate. What I like about Jehue, is that he is disciplined, and he doesn't suffer from the fear of failure. He treats it as a way out. He has all of the qualities that coaches love."
Skinner said that at QRC, an institution revered for academics as well as athletics, Gordon developed into the complete athlete, but never strayed away from his educational pursuits.
"As an individual at QRC, Jehue considered education extremely important, so his primary focus for coming here was to get his education first and foremost," said Skinner. "When you look at him now, he is one of the few professionals who is full-time at university and also training to be a world-class athlete. QRC was like a finishing school for Jehue. It gave him that double experience of education and track and field, and that is why he has that good foundation to move on."
At QRC, Gordon transitioned from a junior hurdler with a lot of promise to a phenomenal performer at the senior level. He finished fourth as a 17-year-old at the Berlin World Championships in 2009, in a national record time of 48.26 seconds. Since then, he has lowered the national record to 47.69 seconds, the time he ran to win the gold in Moscow last year. He participated in numerous meets while at QRC, both locally and internationally. One of his greatest achievements for the school was helping them to reach the Championships of America final for the men's 4x400m relay at the prestigious Penn Relays.
Presently, Gordon is studying full-time at the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine campus, eventually looking to pursue a masters degree there, while still maintaining his competitive nature on the track. Skinner said that when he won the gold medal in Moscow last year, it was like a dream come true, knowing where Gordon came from and where he wanted to go.
"I said that I always wanted to be involved with coaching a world champion, so it was total elation. I savor the moment," said Skinner. "That one will forever be engraved in my memory. I consider myself fortunate to experience these things. At the same time, I'm looking to be involved in the process to produce more world-class athletes. We are very proud of Jehue's accomplishments but we don't want it to stop with him. We want to keep it going."
At just 22-years-old, Gordon still has a long way to go in the sport. He is one of the fastest rising stars in the world today. While still a junior, he dropped more than three seconds off his time in the span of just one year (2008 to 2009), moving from a level where he didn't qualify for the Beijing Olympics to being fourth in the world in Berlin.
He has steadily been on the rise ever since, culminated by his golden run last year. Some consider the world record in the men's 400m hurdles to be out of reach, but Gordon's fans, particularly the ones in this region, feel that if anyone can do it, it's certainly Jehue Gordon. His best time is less than a second away.
"He has all the qualities to challenge the world record. I know that is not his goal and he is not focussed on it, but he certainly has the potential to do it. If it happens, I wouldn't be surprised," said Skinner. "His short term goal remains the Commonwealth Games though, and of course his eyes is on defending his world title in Beijing next year, and winning the Olympics in Brazil."
The 20th Commonwealth Games is set for July 23 to August 3, in Glasgow, Scotland, and Gordon is expected to be one of the leaders on Team Trinidad & Tobago. Gordon will be going after his first Commonwealth Games medal, and he will certainly be eyeing the gold. His season's best is a modest 49.29 seconds, but there's no doubt that he does his best work in the summer months when school is closed and he can dedicate most of his time and efforts to track and field.
Olympian Skinner, now 73, is just embracing what they have in the young superstar.
"We are very proud of his accomplishments. They all talk about the success of Jamaica over the years, and it is warranted, but we are coming," said Skinner. "Our people are looking for us to be more successful, especially on the world scene. We are looking to produce more world-class athletes like Jehue, and on a more consistent basis. We have the talent to do more, but we have to get our system better structured to identify and develop the talent," he added.
Skinner is optimistic about the future of T&T athletics, but he knows that for them to reach the desired results and continue to produce world and Olympic champions, it will take a concerted effort from all parties involved, particularly from an administrative standpoint. The National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad & Tobago (NAAATT) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in that country.
So far, Trinidad & Tobago has won 18 Olympic medals, but just two of them are gold - Hasely Crawford in the men's 100m in 1976, and most recently Keshorn Walcott in the men's javelin in 2012.
Jehue Gordon certainly has the talent and potential to be the third, and his eyes are set on the 2016 Olympic Games in Ro de Janeiro, Brazil. Skinner has been in his corner straight through, and would love to see it come to fruition.
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