by Will Stafford
LSU Sports Information
Four years of dedication, four years of preparation and four years of training all boiled down to a single moment in time for LSU’s Richard Thompson.
The only thing standing in his way of immortality was 100 meters of track and perhaps the finest collegiate field ever assembled in the history of the NCAA Championships.
The stage was set.
Florida State star Walter Dix was back to defend his crown as NCAA champion after taking the title in 2007 with the second-fastest time in collegiate history at 9.93 seconds. A two-time NCAA champion in the 100-meter dash, Dix would later qualify for the United States in both the 100 and 200 meters, while matching his career best at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Clemson standout Travis Padgett had already cracked the 10-second barrier himself in 2008 with a then seasonal best of 9.97 entering the NCAA Championships.
Like Dix, Padgett would go on to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team as a member of the 4×100 relay after shattering Ato Boldon’s 12-year-old collegiate record in the 100 with a stunning 9.89 in the quarterfinal round at the U.S. Trials in late June.
And LSU teammate Trindon Holliday was also poised to challenge for his first career NCAA title in the 100 meters after finishing as the national runner-up in 2007 with a personal best of 10.02.
But on the evening of June 13 at Drake Stadium, it was Thompson who many considered the easy favorite after dominating the competition throughout the 2008 season.
He entered the meet as the reigning NCAA indoor champion in the 60-meter dash while boasting a then collegiate-leading time of 9.93 set in the 100-meter final at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May. With 11 total competitions under his belt heading into the national final, Thompson was the first to cross the finish line all 11 times.
He knew it would take an extraordinary effort to come out on top once again.
It was an unseasonably cool and unfavorably windy evening in Des Moines, Iowa, as the runners took their marks at the starting line. A stiff breeze blowing in the face of the eight men lined side-by-side made for added drama as the title of NCAA 100-meter champion was truly up for grabs.
In those anxious moments before the starter fires his pistol, one might expect a feeling of doubt to creep into the minds of the competitors.
Not for Thompson. Not this year.
He fired out of the blocks with the confidence expected of any great champion, and 10.12 seconds later, he was just that. With arms raised toward the heavens and a burst of exuberance as he crossed the finish line, Thompson cemented his dominance with his first career NCAA 100-meter crown and a sweep of the short sprints in 2008.
“It seems like such a long time ago that I was this freshman who was so nervous every time I got down into the blocks,” Thompson said. “I’ve done a lot of growing up these last four years. I knew I had the confidence to win the NCAA title, regardless of who was lined up next to me. I’m definitely a more confident sprinter now than I’ve been at any other point in my career.”
It truly was the culmination of four years of hard work and perseverance for a man who made his collegiate debut with virtually no fanfare.
A native of the tiny Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, Thompson shopped his talents to many of the elite collegiate sprinting programs in the United States, but few were willing to take a chance on an unproven sprinter with a personal best of 10.65.
But there was one coach who saw enough untapped potential in Thompson to offer the future star a full scholarship to continue his training in the States.
That coach was LSU’s Dennis Shaver.
“I don’t think there’s any question that we took a chance when we signed Richard four years ago, but it’s something that has certainly paid off for both Richard and LSU,” Shaver said. “This was a guy who came to us with a few tools to work with, and we felt he might be able to slowly develop into a solid contributor at the SEC and NCAA level.
“I don’t think anybody, including Richard, could have imagined that he would reach this level of performance in four years. It’s remarkable.”
Thompson knew the road to glory would be long after running a 10.80 in his very first 100-meter race at the collegiate level before finishing 25th in the event at the SEC Championships and failing to qualify for the NCAA Championships as a freshman.
But under Shaver’s guidance, Thompson saw a drastic improvement in his performance with each passing season.
He cut his personal best to 10.43 during the collegiate season in 2006 before earning his first All-America honor in the 100 meters with a top mark of 10.23 at the NCAA Championships in 2007. Thompson gave a glimpse of what was to come during his senior season when he clocked a wind-legal 10.09 at the 2007 Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championships in his native country.
“I always felt like I had to prove to everyone that I was worthy of being here. You could probably say I was a little insecure in the beginning,” Thompson said. “It’s kind of funny looking back on it now, but I’m sure Coach Shaver was probably thinking to himself, you know, ?why did we sign this guy?’ I just wasn’t very good my first year, and I think my insecurity was a big reason why.”
Unlike his collegiate debut four years ago, Thompson leaves LSU as perhaps the most celebrated sprinter to ever wear the purple and gold.
And his credentials speak for themselves.
Thompson is the school-record holder in both the 60 meters (6.51) and 100 meters (9.93). He won four NCAA titles during his career, including a pair of sprint relay titles to go along with his sweep of 60-meter and 100-meter titles during his senior season. He is one of only two Tigers in the history of the NCAA Championships to be crowned 100-meter champion, while he is the only sprinter in school history to sweep NCAA 60-meter and 100-meter titles in the same season.
In addition, he became the second Tiger in program history to be named the NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year for his dominating performance in 2008.
“I speak to some of the coaches now from the other schools that I tried to contact about recruiting me, and they openly say they regret not taking me. I bet they do,” Thompson joked.
He has been called many things during his illustrious four-year career at LSU ? NCAA champion, SEC champion, All-American and school-record holder just to name a few. He is now poised to add yet another title to his already impressive resume.
Thompson will forever carry the title of “Olympian.”
Just one week after being crowned the NCAA 100-meter champion, Thompson earned the right to wear the red and black of his native Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, with a runner-up finish at his country’s Olympic Trials. It marks the first time in his young career that he will compete in the Olympic Games.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to call myself an Olympian,” Thompson said. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a youngster looking at some of the great guys in history like Hasley Crawford and Ato Boldon in my own country. I always told myself that I wanted to be like them.
“It didn’t even seem like it was a reality four years ago, but things really worked out well for me here at LSU, and it’s just great that I will have the experience of running in the Olympic Games.”
Despite having the fifth-fastest time in the world this season of all sprinters in Beijing, Thompson has often been overlooked by those predicting who will take their place on the medal stand following the 100-meter final at the National Stadium on Saturday.
American Tyson Gay and Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell are expected to battle it out for the gold medal next weekend. After all, Gay is the reigning World Champion, while Bolt is the current world-record holder after breaking Powell’s mark with a best of 9.72 earlier this year.
But with Gay suffering a hamstring injury in the semifinals of the 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials just one month ago, some believe the bronze medal is still up for grabs.
Shaver is one of those people.
“Realistically, the gold and silver medals look pretty solid with Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, but the bronze medal it seems like is really up in the air with Tyson Gay having gotten hurt at the Trials,” Shaver said. “I’m pretty confident that Richard can run right at his personal best or a little bit faster, and that’s what it’s going to take to make the final and possibly medal.”
Thompson said he would just like to make the final in his Olympic debut before he even thinks of stepping onto the podium.
“It’s great to know that I’m going into the Olympics for the first time with a legitimate shot to get something done there,” Thompson said. “A lot of people go to their first Olympic Games and they’re just happy and content with being able to compete. I’ll be really honest, if I go there and I don’t get into the final then I’ll be extremely disappointed. I have the ability to do it.
“That’s my goal to just go in there and make the final. If I can do that, then anything is possible.”
And if it’s not meant to be this time around, Thompson will surely have his sights set on the 2012 Olympic Games in London where he hopes to have his name mentioned in the same breath as that of Gay, Bolt and Powell.
“What’s the thing that people say? If it’s not broke, then don’t fix it,” Thompson said. “I think me staying at LSU is going to lead to even more success in the future. I just feel like I’m a lot more focused when I’m here, and I need to stay in the kind of environment that is conducive to success. If I just continue to do the things I’ve been doing, then I know things will work out for me.”
Shaver agreed that if Thompson shows the same kind of commitment over the next four years that he has in the previous four, then his potential is limitless as a professional sprinter.
“Richard is still very young, but his future in this sport is very bright,” Shaver said. “He has what I think are the components both mentally and physically to become one of the best at what he does. He’s certainly a person who can run in the 9.80s in the 100-meter sprint race, and I still feel like he’s a 19.7 sprinter in the 200 meters if he were to get interested in running that race more.
“Richard’s best years are certainly ahead of him even though he is already very competitive at the highest level. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.”
It will be a lot of fun, indeed.