Profiles: Heroes, Role Models and Pioneers of Trinidad and Tobago - by Nasser Khan

170 KESHORN WALCOTT (1993- ) S till a teenager, Toco born and bred Keshorn Walcott, brought golden glory to Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday 11th August, 2012 at the Olympics in London, England. His homecoming was fit for the king of the sport of javelin-throwing that he had become with a record throw of 84.58 metres. He was the second Olympic gold medallist in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, the first being Hasely Crawford, 36 years ago in Montreal, and the youngest ever to win the event at the Olympics. Prior to his Olympic achievement, Walcott was the Junior World Champion at the 2012 Barcelona Games, a three-time winner in the Under-20 Javelin throw at the Carifta Games and a two-time champion at the CAC Junior Championships. Monday 13th August 2012 was declared a national holiday in his honour and hewas bestowedwithmany valuable gifts by theGovernment for his great achievement. The famous landmark, the Toco Lighthouse, has been renamed “The Keshorn Walcott Toco Lighthouse” and the high school from which he graduated, Toco Composite, will become “The Keshorn Walcott Secondary School”. MANNIE RAMJOHN (1915-1998) M annie Ramjohn, ran barefooted and even competed internationally without running shoes, gave Trinidad and Tobago its first ever gold medal in 1946 when he won the 5,000 meters final at the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games in Baranquilla, Colombia. Ramjohn had an impressive career track record of 96 victories, 40 second-place and 13 third-place finishes from the meets he entered