November 4, 2009

5 Minutes with Emanuel Callender





By: TrackAlerts.com

Trinidad & Tobago’s Olympics sprint relay silver medallist, Emmanuel Callender, is back in training after enjoying some well-deserved rest. He had his best season, 2009, on the track and now looking forward to 2010 with optimism.

In Beijing, Callender, joined forces with Marc Buns, Keston Bledman and Richard Thompson to give Trinidad & Tobago’s their best sprint relay colour medal at this level, running 38.06 behind Jamaica’s world record of 37.10.

Callender, 25, during the past season, ran 10.08 to pocket gold for his country at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Havana, Cuba, held in July.

The sprinter, who grew up in Arouca, Trinidad, was faced with a choice between National service in the TNT Coastguard and a sprinting career.

Callender, in a five minute interview, discussed with TrackAlerts.com journalist Clayton Clarke his past and upcoming seasons.



TrackAlerts.com: This year has been the best year so far in your career. You ended the season with personal best times of 10.05 in the 100m and 20.40 in the 200m. What do you think has been responsible for your incredible year?

Emmanuel Callender: Faith, believing God all the time and praying. God had a big part to play in it. Sometimes, you know, you tend to get lackadaisical and forget to pray. At times you lose the faith but you know and die off a bit.

TA: You were training with the fastest man ever in the world. How does that motivate you?

EC: That does not motivate me that much because he is his own man and I am my own man so I just focus on what I have to do. I just go there to have fun. We always were playing in training. When we train it is just to have fun and make sure and finish the work out. That is our goal every time we train.

TA: How many years were you in Jamaica? How was it training in Jamaica?

EC: I was there about two and half years. The training in Jamaica is much different than in Trinidad. In Jamaica, they are a lot more interested in track and field. When you go on the track in Trinidad and football is going on you can’t train, you can’t use the field. You have to wait until football finish and after football the lights go off and you can’t even train.

TA: TT sprint relay team became the third quickest national team with the 37.62 run in Berlin. What does that mean for you and your teammates?
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EC: It is a great achievement. Actually, we believe we could have won. We didn’t doubt ourselves going into the race just that, you know, the (baton) passing wasn’t all that effective but we believe in God and we prayed before the race.

TA: You guys were more less even with Jamaica in that race until Bolt edged away in the third leg and Asafa pulling away to win. How did you and the team react to that?

EC: Richard (Thompson, who ran the anchor) and I have a lot more passing to do to that exchange perfect. We didn’t practise that much. As a matter of fact, we didn’t really practise at all. We just go out there and do it. We just do it and ride on faith all the time and God to get that stick around.

TA: What are your goals for 2010?

EC: This year (2010) is going to be a long season. I have to be a lot more flexible. I started the sport late. Darryl (Browne), Marc (Burns) and Richard (Thompson) started running from the junior level. I still have a lot more stuff to learn. I am still developing. I am hoping to experiment to do good not to do bad, not to fail but to do well. I can’t go with any doubts in my mind.

TA: Any confirmations on what meets you will be running in 2010?

EC: No… not yet.

TA: The 2009 World Championships in Berlin was one of the best championships for Trinidad and Tobago athletes. How do feel being part of that team?

EC: I think it was the best every time we step on the track no athlete goes to lose. Some people in Trinidad say we eating too much KFC and we not doing enough but everybody goes with the mind to win. The athletes need a lot of support (in order) to do better. In Berlin all the athletes were together and praying and that got us through.