BATON ROUGE – LSU sprint great Richard Thompson made himself a national hero in Trinidad & Tobago with his silver-medal winning run in the 100-meter dash at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and he has certainly used his fame to give back to his home country as demonstrated by his recent contribution to a local medical center in Port-of-Spain.
Thompson donated $4,000 USD ($25,720 TTD) to the Just Because Foundation Pediatric Specialty Unit at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Port-of-Spain this past weekend.
Thompson prides himself in serving as a role model to the youth of his country of Trinidad & Tobago and stated in Jan. 11 article in Eastern Caribbean that he is proud to support such a worthy cause.
A native of Cascade, Trinidad, Thompson became a symbol of national pride at the 2008 Olympic Games when he won a pair of silver medals in his Olympics debut, including a runner-up finish to Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in the 100-meter dash before anchoring Trinidad & Tobago to a runner-up finish in the 4×100-meter relay. He set his personal best of 9.89 seconds in the 100-meter final at the Olympic Games.
Thompson continued his success into his first season as a professional in 2009 when he placed fifth in the 100-meter dash at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany, while also anchoring his country to a silver medal in the 4×100-meter relay.
He again established himself as one of the world’s premier sprinters by finishing the 2009 campaign rated as the seventh-fastest sprinter in the world with a seasonal-best time of 9.93.