Lalonde Gordon facts for kids
Gordon in the 2012 Olympic final
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| Born | 25 November 1988 Lowlands, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago |
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| Education | Mohawk Valley Community College Morgan State University |
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| Height | 1.90 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Trinidad and Tobago |
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| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 400 metres | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Zenith Velocity AC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Trevor Green | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Lalonde Keida Gordon (born November 25, 1988) is a famous track and field sprinter from Tobago, part of Trinidad and Tobago. He is best known for running the 400 metres race.
Lalonde won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the 400 metres. He also earned another bronze medal at the same Olympics with his team in the 4 × 400 metres relay race. This relay team set a new national record for their country.
He has also won many medals in other big competitions. These include a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and silver at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in the 4 × 400 metres relay. He also has bronze medals from the IAAF World Indoor Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Contents
Lalonde's Early Life and Training
Lalonde Gordon was born in Lowlands, a town on the island of Tobago. He started competing in track and field sports when he was very young. When he was seven, he moved to New York City in the United States.
Around 2003, as a teenager, Lalonde stopped running for a while. But in 2009, while studying at Mohawk Valley Community College, he decided to start training again. He wanted to represent his school in track and field. He competed in both the 200 metres and 400 metres races. Even though he didn't like the 400 metres at first, he later chose to focus on it. After Mohawk Valley, Lalonde went on to graduate from Morgan State University.
Lalonde's Running Career Highlights
Starting His Senior Career
In 2010, Lalonde competed in the national championships. He ran the 200 metres in under 21 seconds and the 400 metres in under 47 seconds. He finished second in the 400 metres.
Later that year, he joined a team for the 4 × 400 metres relay at the Athletics at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games. They won a bronze medal. Lalonde also ran individually at the Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He reached the semi-finals and set a new personal best time of 46.33 seconds.
In 2011, Lalonde won his first international race at the Rabat Meeting, setting a new best time of 45.51 seconds. At the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, he made it to the 400 metres final. He also won a silver medal with the relay team.
Success in 2012 and Beyond
Lalonde had a great start to 2012. He ran a very fast time of 46.43 seconds in the 400 metres indoors in New York. At the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he helped his relay team break the national indoor record. They won a bronze medal, finishing behind the United States and Great Britain.
Outdoors, he kept improving. He set new personal bests in the 100 metres (10.45 seconds) and 200 metres (20.62 seconds). He also won the 400 metres race with a time of 45.33 seconds. At the national championships that year, he won the 400 metres. His 4 × 400 metres relay team also set a new national record.
Olympic Achievements
Lalonde was chosen for the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic team for the relay race. However, he hadn't yet met the qualifying time for the individual 400 metres race. His mother helped him travel to a competition in Omaha, where he ran a winning time of 45.02 seconds. This time was fast enough to qualify him for the Olympics!
At the 2012 London Olympics, Lalonde surprised many by winning his semi-final with a very fast time of 44.58 seconds. In the 400 metres Olympic final, he ran even faster, finishing in 44.52 seconds. This earned him a bronze medal. He was only the second person from Trinidad and Tobago to win an Olympic medal in this event.
Lalonde then encouraged his relay team to do their best. The team, including Lalonde, Jarrin Solomon, Ade Alleyne-Forte, and Deon Lendore, set a new national record of 3:00.38 minutes in their qualifying race. In the final, they ran even faster, finishing in 2:59.40 minutes. They won the bronze medal, just ahead of Great Britain. This was another historic moment for their country in the Olympics.
Lalonde continued to achieve great things after the 2012 Olympics. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago teams that won gold at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and silver at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he earned two bronze medals: one in the individual 400 metres and another in the 4 × 400 metres relay. He set a new personal best time in the individual 400 metres at those games.
Lalonde's Best Times
Here are Lalonde Gordon's fastest times in different races:
- 100 metres: 10.45 seconds (2012)
- 200 metres: 20.16 seconds (2013)
- 200 metres (indoors): 20.49 seconds (2017)
- 400 metres: 44.52 seconds (2012)
- 400 metres (indoors): 45.17 seconds (2014)
- 500 metres (indoors): 1 minute, 2.83 seconds (2012)
See also
In Spanish: Lalonde Gordon para niños
