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"We are Olympic gold medallists, we are not scrubs!"
A passionate and upset Richard "Torpedo" Thompson said on Monday he felt hurt by the government's treatment of the victorious 2008 4x100m men's Olympic team. He was speaking at a media conference held via Zoom.
Thompson, Marc Burns, Keston Bledman, Emmanuel Callender and Aaron Armstrong earned silver at the Beijing Games, but were upgraded to gold after Nesta Carter, a member of the triumphant Jamaican quartet, failed a doping test.
The relay men received their gold medals at a grand IOC ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July last year. IOC president Thomas Bach was present to honour TT's athletes, saying, "Finally, justice is being done.”
The three-time Olympic medallist said the IOC helped "soften the blow" of missing out on their moment of glory, possible sponsorships, rewards and contract bonuses.
But Thompson said he was incredibly disappointed that the IOC laid out the red carpet for the TT relay team, but the government did nothing to celebrate their achievement.
"Not even a cocktail reception," he lamented.
Thompson, who grabbed silver in the individual 100m event in Beijing, said TT's men followed up their performance with 4x100 relay silver at the 2012 London Games. He said TT's men's relay teams have always represented the country with distinction and pride and never brought shame to the red, white and black via failed drug tests or even missed tests.
Recalling how some previous TT Olympic medallists – Hasely Crawford and Keshorn Walcott – were honoured, Thompson said the relay team simply wanted equitable treatment, including provision for houses.
The former Louisiana State University (LSU) sprinter said he tried to meet the Prime Minister to discuss plans for the team to give back to the country, but they were referred to Minister of Sport Shamfa Cudjoe.
Thompson said he had always had open lines of communication with former prime ministers, dating back to the late Patrick Manning in 2008. He recalled Manning and then Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday called him in 2008 to congratulate him on his performance in Beijing.
He said they eventually held a meeting with Cudjoe which lasted about an hour and 20 minutes, of which 60 minutes was spent discussing how the athletes could give back to the country.
He said Cudjoe warmly received the pitch and they were invited to send a proposal. Thompson said this was hand-delivered to the Ministry of Sport and Community Development by August last year and a digital copy also sent.
He said 20 minutes of the meeting was spent discussing rewards for being upgraded from silver to gold and a promise was made to take a note to Cabinet on the matter.
However, he said, there has been radio silence since then.
"Are we being blacklisted?" he asked.
He said the relay team looked on at the Republic Day Awards last year and were shocked that they were not even invited.
He said he wanted to be clear that their press conference was not politically motivated or anti-PNM.
"We just want answers...We tried to be patient. It's been a year since we got the gold medals. How do you win a gold medal and it's swept under the rug?"
Thompson said there are many ills affecting society, and sport can be used to address some of them.
"This isn't simply about a reward."
He recalled being a student at Newtown Boys' RC School and seeing Ato Boldon up and close, and conversations with former Olympic medallist Ian Morris were instrumental in his life and professional career.
"We are not gonna miss this opportunity," he said. He said the relay team had been doing their own work, attending seminars and talking to young athletes.
However, he said it was important there is succession planning to produce other high-quality sprinters. He said his generation of sprinters was not the result of any specific programme, but in his case, owing to personal decisions he made to find the best foreign university to further his athletic career.
"I'm sure Marc Burns and the other guys have similar stories," he said.
Thompson said he has no problem with the government and the NAAA reaching out to Jamaica to try and emulate its sprint programmes, but there are locals who can be used too.
He said he doesn't want to feud with the government and is giving it the benefit of the doubt that their treatment was an oversight.
"I believe they will do right by us," he said.
Reward for gold worth less than 2008 silver
Responding to the relay men in the Senate on Monday, Cudjoe acknowledged meeting two of the athletes last year.
"They were proposing that we should now give them rewards and incentives since they've now being upgraded to gold. When we did our research in the ministry, the rewards they received in 2008 for the medal they received then – what is being offered for gold now is less than what they got in 2008...
"There was a proposal made that we pay them a stipend for the rest of their life. I must say that in these economic times, that is something that is challenging to do. We as a government have to make a decision and balance the support of athletes now, the ones who are young and upcoming, as we work now with the government of Jamaica to upgrading and ramping up sport n schools, and exactly the programme we ought to do for athletes who've medalled and in their senior age, and some of them who are not living at home."
Cudjoe said it is not solely the responsibility of government but corporate TT must come on board to promote sport and support athletes.
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