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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 on November 25, 1988, is a famous track and field athlete from Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago. He is a sprinter who is best known for running the 400 metres. Lalonde won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the 400-meter race. This was his personal best time of 44.52 seconds.
He is one of the fastest 400-meter runners from his country. He also won another bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. This was with his team in the 4 × 400 metres relay race. They even set a new national record! Lalonde has also won medals at other big events. These include the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
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Lalonde Gordon's Athletic Journey
Lalonde Gordon was born in Lowlands on the island of Tobago. He started competing in track and field when he was very young. He was named after a famous boxer, Donny Lalonde.
When he was seven, Lalonde moved to New York City in the United States. He stopped running for a while as a teenager around 2003. But in 2009, while studying at Mohawk Valley Community College, he started training again. He wanted to represent his school in running.
He first competed in both the 200 metres and 400 metres. Later, he decided to focus on the longer 400-meter race. Even though he didn't like it at first, he became very good at it! After Mohawk Valley, Lalonde went on to graduate from Morgan State University.
Early Races and First Medals
In 2010, Lalonde competed in the national championships. He ran the 200 meters in under 21 seconds. He also ran the 400 meters in under 47 seconds, finishing second. A month later, he joined a team for the 4×400 metres relay at the Central American and Caribbean Games. They won a bronze medal together.
Lalonde also ran individually at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He made it to the semifinals and set a personal best time. The next year, he won his first international race in Rabat, Morocco. He set a new personal best of 45.51 seconds in the 400 meters.
At the 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships, he reached the 400-meter final. He also won a silver medal with his relay team. In 2011, he focused on shorter sprints at the Trinidad and Tobago Championships. He finished third in the 200 meters and won the 4×100 metres relay.
Road to Olympic Glory
Lalonde started 2012 with a great indoor season. He ran a world-leading time of 46.43 seconds in the 400 meters in New York. At the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, he was disqualified in his individual race. However, he led a relay team that included Renny Quow, Jereem Richards, and Jarrin Solomon. They broke the national indoor record and won a bronze medal!
Outdoors, he kept getting faster. He set three personal bests in New York. He ran the 100 metres in 10.45 seconds and the 200 meters in 20.62 seconds. Then, he won the 400 meters in 45.33 seconds. At the national championships that year, he beat the defending champion in the 400 meters. He also helped his team set a new national record in the 4 × 400 m relay.
Olympic Success in London
Lalonde was chosen for the relay team for the 2012 London Olympics. But he didn't have a spot in an individual race yet. This was because he hadn't met the Olympic qualifying standard. His mother helped him by paying for a flight to a championship in July. There, he ran his best time yet, 45.02 seconds, and won the race. This time was good enough to qualify for the Olympics!
He then went to England to get ready for the 2012 London Olympics. Lalonde surprised everyone by winning his semi-final race with a super-fast time of 44.58 seconds. He ran even faster in the 400-meter Olympic final. He won a bronze medal with a time of 44.52 seconds! He was only the second person from his country to win an Olympic medal in this event.
His amazing performance inspired his relay team. Lalonde, Jarrin Solomon, Ade Alleyne-Forte, and Deon Lendore ran a national record of 3:00.38 minutes in their qualifying race. In the final, they ran even faster! They beat Great Britain to win the bronze medal with a time of 2:59.40 minutes. This made them the country's second team to win a medal in this event at the Olympics.
Lalonde also helped Trinidad and Tobago win other big medals. These include a gold at the 2017 World Championships. He also won a silver at the 2015 World Championships. And a bronze at the 2016 World Indoor Championships. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won two bronze medals. One was in the 400 meters and the other in the 4 x 400 meters relay. He even set a new personal best in the individual 400 meters race there.
Personal 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 (indoor): 20.49 seconds (2017)
- 400 metres: 44.52 seconds (2012)
- 400 metres (indoor): 45.17 seconds (2014)
- 500 metres (indoor): 1 minute, 2.83 seconds (2012)
See also
In Spanish: Lalonde Gordon para niños
