Source: www.trinidadexpress.com By Kwame Laurence New Delhi
Throwing first at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, yesterday, the Trinidad and Tobago field athlete landed the iron ball 19.03 metres.
Fully aware there was just one woman in the field capable of bettering that mark, Borel-Brown knew she would improve on the bronze medal performance she had produced in Melbourne, Australia back in 2006.
It happened so easily. I was just trying to make sure that I didn't mess up, that I got a throw in that could get me into the final and into the medals. When I saw it was 19 I was really excited. And I knew that I didn't exert a lot of effort. It was technically good, so then I thought I would break the world record," she joked.
None of the throwers came close to the 22.63m world record. Valerie Adams, though, established a new Commonwealth Games standard. The reigning champion threw 20.47m in the first round to erase her own 19.66m Games record from the books, seizing the lead from Borel-Brown in the process.
Like Borel-Brown, Adams' first throw turned out to be her best. But while there was no improvement on her opening mark, the champion had the satisfaction of bettering 20 metres in each of the six rounds.
Bronze went to Samoa's Margaret Satupai, who threw a personal best 16.43m.
After receiving her silver medal, Borel-Brown draped the T&T flag across her shoulders, posing for a series of photos as she basked in the moment, the 31-year-old thrower having completed another chapter of T&T track and field history.
In Melbourne, Borel-Brown became the country's first female Commonwealth Games medallist. She remained the lone member of the club up until Friday, when Ayanna Alexander earned triple jump silver to seize the "Most Successful T&T Female" title.
But Alexander's reign was short-lived, Borel-Brown reclaiming the crown less than 24 hours later with her big 19.03m effort. And while 19 metres eluded her for the rest of the competition, there was never any doubt the US-based athlete would join T&T's "Commonwealth Games Multi-Medallist Club".
She is the first female member and the 11th overall, joining the likes of Hasely Crawford, Wendell Mottley, Edwin Roberts, Roger Gibbon and Rodney Wilkes.
There is every likelihood another first will be recorded at the Nehru Stadium today. Rhonda Watkins is the favourite in the women's long jump final, following her 6.56 metres effort in yesterday's qualification event. She was the only jumper to attain the 6.50m automatic qualifying distance.
Alexander, who jumped 6.02m in qualifying, will also compete in today's final.
Borel-Brown told the Sunday Express the strong showing from T&T's female athletes here in New Delhi is not a chance occurrence. "It's the people that came before us. Candice [Scott], people like Ayanna [Hutchinson], people like Fana Ashby, all the female athletes that came, and even before that time. We're more like a team now, we can depend on each other, we can talk to each other more. We could talk about stuff, we could talk about track, and we support each other. We've just been building on the shoulders of the past, just been building and building and building."
Another T&T woman, Aleesha Barber, is listed for action today. She competes for a lane in the 100m hurdles final.
Emmanuel Callender missed out on a medal in the men's 100m by just one-hundredth of a second, the T&T sprinter finishing fourth in Thursday's final in 10.25 seconds. Today, he runs in the first 200m semi-final heat, and hopes to return to the track some two hours later for the championship race.
In the second round, yesterday, Callender finished third in heat two in 20.91 seconds to advance automatically to the semis.
Earlier, in the eighth and final heat in the opening round of the half lap event, the T&T sprinter gave himself a bit of a scare. He shut down too early, and had to step on the gas pedal to claim third spot and a guaranteed lane in the second round. Callender clocked 21.16 seconds.
"I'm just trying to save as much energy as I can," he told the Sunday Express, after his first round heat. "I had only one day's rest [after the 100] so I'm still sore. I'm trying to take it easy and not push myself too hard and burn up all my energy.
"All this is preparation," Callender continued, "for [London] 2012. My coach (John Smith) insisted I run both [sprints] plus the relay, so that I could get the experience of what four rounds feel like."
Callender said he expected to strike gold in the 100m.
"But I ended up cramping up in the blocks and it caused me to pause. When I finished running, my hand cramped up too. Dehydration."
Callender's teammate, Aaron Armstrong, bagged bronze in the 100m in 10.24 seconds.
The haul for Team T&T, ahead of today's action, is four—two silver medals and two bronze. Watkins and Callender are hoping to add a new colour to the collection.