Lalonde Gordon targets sub-44 seconds in the 400m in 2013

“My mind is set on running sub-44 seconds in the 400m and I’m going for it this season,” said a confident Lalonde Gordon, the Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad) 2012 national 400m champion.  Lalonde continues, “last year [2012] I started my season in December; and at the Olympics my body felt tired; this year [2013] I will start my season in March.  I will be stronger for the World Championship where I’m looking to go 43’s in the 400m.” Lalonde had a superb 2012 season which saw him capturing two bronze medals at the London Olympics. He took 3^rd place in the men’s 400m in a lifetime best time of 44.52 seconds and later led the men’s 4x4 relay team to the bronze medal in a national record-time of 2:59.40 seconds. Trackledger.com caught up with Lalonde as he reflected on his Olympics experience, his great coaching staff and his pursuit of world championship 400m gold in Moscow as he targets going sub-44. Reflecting on London Heading into the London 2012 Olympics, Lalonde said that his goal was to make the finals in the 400m.  But after running a then personal-best of 44.58 seconds in the semi-finals, Lalonde said that he started to have that “feeling” and that if he could push himself harder, then getting a medal was a possibility. “I just went into the Olympics trying to do my best; and I was able to medal,” said Lalonde. For Lalonde, winning two bronze medals at the Olympics was like a dream come true and his initial reaction was one of shock and amazement. “I still can’t believe it happened,” said Lalonde, who is coping well with his Olympic success. Relay Glory Commenting on the performance of his teammates in the 4 x4 relay, Lalonde said, “those guys are wonderful; I really enjoy running with them. After I medal in the 400m, we decided that we’re going out there to win a medal in the 4x4 and to make our country proud.” The team of Jarrin Solomon, Ade Alleyne-Forte, Deon Lendore and Gordon did not only win a medal but also stopped the clock in a national record time of 2:59.40. When asked whether the 3^rd place finish at the 2012 World Indoor Championship in Istanbul in a national record time of 3:06.85, was a precursor to their performance in London, Lalonde responded, “at the World Indoor we didn’t have a strong team, as we had a junior running on one of the legs; but in London we had our senior team and we expected more; even though we didn’t have Renny Quow, we knew that we just had to go out there and do our best.” Lalonde, who grow up in the Bronx, New York and has relatives in Trinidad and New York, said that his Olympic success has changed his life. On his return trips to Trinidad since the Olympics, Lalonde gets lots of attention when he walks the streets; people see him and want to take pictures with him. On December 28, Lalonde is scheduled be in Trinidad along with his fellow medalists. They will be formally recognized at the Trinidad Spirit of Sport Awards ceremony. “It feels great to be recognized by my country and I thank my family both in New York and Trinidad for supporting me,” he said. Training and Coaching Staff Based on his accomplishments so far, Lalonde sub-44 second target in the 400m seems very realistic. He entered the 2012 season with a personal best time of 45.51 seconds and was able to improve it to 44.52 seconds by the end of the season. Lalonde, who is coached by Trevor Green at the Zenith Velocity Track Club (Zenith) in New York, has extreme confidence in the coaching staff. “Training is going very good; we just started doing some strength work and some jogging. Overall training is coming along good,” said Gordon, who was quick to credit the great job done by coach Green and the rest of the Zenith coaching staff in making the 2012 season a success. “Yes they did a great job. The coaching staff did a really good job pushing us in training to do our best not just on the track but also off the track.” Coach Green echoing that sentiment said, “Lalonde is a talent and he’s an integral part of our plans for 2013.” With Lalonde as his centerpiece, Coach Green is gearing up his Zenith 4x4 squad relay to go well-below 3 minutes in the upcoming season. Going for World Championship Gold in Moscow “I can’t wait for Moscow. I just want to go out there and do what I did at the Olympics. This time I want gold for my country. I am looking forward to doing some damage in Moscow,” said Lalonde. Should Lalonde go sub-44 seconds this season, he would become only the second runner from the Caribbean to achieve that feat. Grenada’s Kirani James is the first to do so with his 43.94 seconds gold-winning performance at the London Olympics.