Making the Olympics is a dream sprinters think about for a long time – just ask former Tiger Richard Thompson.
“It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for many years,” said Thompson, the 2008 NCAA Outdoor 100-meter dash champion. “Just to be able to have the experience of going to the Olympics is amazing for me.”
Thompson even has a symbol on his left arm representing his desire to compete in the upcoming Games in Beijing.
“I actually have a tattoo of a tiger and the Olympic rings on my arm,” Thompson said. “I told myself I was going to make this Olympics.”
Thompson and several other track athletes with LSU connections are hitting their preparations for the Olympic Games in full stride.
“After they got back from their trials they all needed a little bit of rest because of all the stress that goes along with those championships,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. “But we got through it, we’re healthy, and I think that everybody’s ready to get back going again.”
This will be Thompson’s first Olympic Games. Former sprinter Kelly-Ann Baptiste will compete in her second Olympic Games.
Baptiste ran a leg on Trinidad and Tobago’s 4×100-meter relay team in 2004.
“I felt like if I went to the first one, it was just for the experience,” Baptiste said. “It wasn’t me really trying to go out there and seriously participate and feel as if I actually belong in that class of sprinters. Now I actually feel like I belong there.”
Both Thompson and Baptiste will represent Trinidad and Tobago in the Olympics.
“When I’m out there I’m representing Trinidad and Tobago and I have to wear red, white and black, their colors,” Thompson said. “But at the same time I always represent LSU with whatever I do.”
Thompson, Baptiste and senior-to-be Nickiesha Wilson have been training at LSU this past week in preparation for the 29th Olympiad. Thompson and Baptiste will compete in the 100-meter dash while Wilson will compete in the 400-meter hurdles.
Many of the athletes will compete in at least two more track meets before the Olympic Games, including meets in Barcelona, Stockholm and London. They will leave at the end of July to travel to Beijing.
“They’re all going to run a couple meets … then go on the long trip over to Beijing and try to get there at least 10 to 12, maybe even 14 days prior to starting competition,” Shaver said.
The athletes will arrive in Beijing early to adjust to the time change and jet lag.
“It’s a huge time zone change from here,” Shaver said. “It’ll take them three or four days to get at least their body clocks changed around.”
Shaver has the athletes training in the early afternoon to keep them acclimated to the heat. He said the weather for the Olympic Games should be similar to weather in Baton Rouge.
“It can be pretty oppressive here at times,” Shaver said. “We’re going to be acclimated from that standpoint.”
Shaver said he doesn’t expect conditions in Beijing, including possible air pollution, to be a problem for the sprinters.
“It’d be different if you were a long distance runner or middle distance runner where oxygen is crucial to your event,” Shaver said. “For us running the races we run, I don’t think they’re going to have too much trouble with the conditions.”
Thompson said he likes his chances at the Games if he makes the final.
“As long as I can get in the final anything is possible,” Thompson said. “I think right now I’m around like fifth or sixth in the world [in the 100-meter dash]. It’s definitely a strong possibility of me getting in there.”
Baptiste said she likes her chances because nobody “expects [her] to do anything.”
“I really don’t have anything to lose,” Baptiste said. “But at the same time I’m going there with a lot of confidence knowing that I’ve been training for this.”
Both Thompson and Baptiste have signed with agents. Baptiste is sponsored by adidas, while Thompson has yet to pick up a corporate sponsorship.
“I haven’t signed with a shoe company yet,” Thompson said. “[My agent] is in the process of negotiating a contract for me right now.”
—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]