media_artricles :: 2014

Thompson encourages youths to follow their dreams

National 100 metre record holder Richard Thompson gave an inspiring speech at the Gatorade Sport Science Institute Symposium (GSSI) held at the University of the West Indies (UWI) SPEC Indoor Court yesterday afternoon.

This is the first ever GSSI Symposium in Trinidad and Tobago. GSSI tours the world doing symposiums and conferences where GSSI experts share information on sport nutrition and exercise science to enhance the performance and well-being of athletes.

The four-time Olympic medallist shared his experiences as a professional athlete including his ups and downs. He mentioned that as a junior he did not make any national teams but that did not stop him from following his dream.

He went on to touch on some of the high points of his career.

“(Being a) Two-time silver medallist at the 2004 Olympics, as well as the National Champion four times as well as the National Record holder and to eclipse Ato Boldon’s national record is something that means a lot to me,” he said.

Thompson commented on how difficult it was to get to the level that he is at today, coming out of Queens Royal College.

“Coming out of QRC I wasn’t the fastest in secondary school; I never made any junior team and as a result many universities did not approach me,” he continued.

“Some of the smaller schools approached me but I would have been the fastest in the school and I didn’t want to go where I’ll be the big fish in the small pond. I wanted to go somewhere I could get better, by being around athletes who are better than I am, so I can become strong and improve my speed.”

He explained that after being rejected by multiple universities, Louisiana State University decided to take a chance with him and offered him a full scholarship under the new sprint coach.

“LSU decided to take a chance with me, they were now rebuilding their programme and had a new head coach who is heavily involved in short sprints and he was willing to take the chance with me,” he explained.

“By the end of 2008 I had become the South Eastern Conference (SEC) champion, the SEC champion indoors and the SEC champion outdoors. I had been the fastest person to come through LSU and I’ve been the fastest person to come through the NCAA,” he revealed.

The ace sprinter noted that he does not concern himself with other people’s opinions.

“It is about believing that you can do something — having that goal, believing in it, and going out and accomplishing it,” Thompson declared.

The 28-year-old sent out a message to all young athletes in TT to not be afraid to fail in order to succeed.

“In order to succeed you can’t be afraid to fail. You would have setbacks along the way,” he noted.

He later quoted Boldon, stating, “The road to success isn’t always straight and it’s filled with pot holes.”

Thompson continued, “If you never failed then you never tried anything, you have to push through. Another important fact of being successful that many people leave out is surrounding yourself with positive people.”

He ended by saying that success depends on each individual and how bad you want it.

“Ultimately it all comes back to you, how bad do you want it, how bad you want to succeed. It is very easy to point fingers at people and blame them for not delivering on their promises, but in the end they go on with their lives and do what they have to do and you are stuck there not accomplishing what you want to. It is up to you to find your way out of those situations and become better,” he stressed.

“You control your destiny, find those who support you on your journey and eliminate those who don’t. Apply this to all aspects of life and you would see that it teaches you not just what to expect from people but how to treat people as well.” He ended by sayingt he intends to give back to the youth of TT by hosting clinics, camps, talks, to be a role model and inspire other people.

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