Keshorn Walcott is just 19, but he's already Trinidad and Tobago's most successful male field athlete in Olympic Games history.
The world junior champion added another important entry to his resume yesterday—Olympic finalist.
Walcott produced a huge 81.75-metre throw in the third and final round of the men's javelin Group B qualifying competition at the Olympic Stadium here in London, England.
The effort was just short of the 82m automatic qualifying distance but good enough for sixth spot in Group B and tenth overall. The top 12 throwers will do battle in Saturday's final.
Walcott told the Express he had to talk himself into the right frame of mind, ahead of his third throw.
"I said, 'Look, I'm going to relax; hopefully, don't foul, and put everything into it.' And I got it.
"I'm feeling great," he continued. "I went out there, didn't throw my best, but I still got into the final."
The Toco field athlete's personal best (pb) is 82.83m—the Pan American junior record as well as the national senior record.
"Hopefully, I'll get my pb in the final."
Walcott opened yesterday's competition with a 78.91m throw, and followed up with 76.44m in the second round. He was visibly upset with what he was producing on his Olympic debut and admitted afterwards he was intimidated by his big-name rivals.
"Honestly, I was a bit frightened. Going into the competition, seeing those guys, I was frightened. But I knew not everyone would have a good day, so I just went out there and did what I had to do. I held my nerve, got a big throw, and things worked out for the better."
There were some anxious moments, however. Ninth after his 81.75m throw in the final round, Walcott slipped to tenth after Julius Yego landed the javelin 81.81m—a new Kenya national record.
Walcott looked on nervously at the rest of the competition. Among the throwers who could nudge him down the standings, and ultimately out of the top 12, was reigning world champion Matthias De Zordo. The German had fouled his first two attempts.
"You saw me standing there," said Walcott, "looking at them. But I knew that just how I was feeling, they were feeling—with pressure on the last throw".
Unlike Walcott, De Zordo was unable to produce the big one on his last attempt and had to bid farewell to London 2012.
Walcott said he thoroughly enjoyed the electric atmosphere of Olympic competition.
"For me, it was great. It didn't pull me down. It gave me a boost, knowing that there were a lot of people to throw in front of."
Walcott is T&T's first-ever Olympic Games male field event finalist and the country's third overall. At the 2004 Athens Games, Candice Scott finished ninth in the women's hammer throw and Cleopatra Borel copped tenth spot in the women's shot put.
Walcott wants to raise the bar in Saturday's final.
"Hopefully, get into the last eight."
By Kwame Laurence
Source: www.trinidadexpress.com
Nineteen-year-old Keshorn Walcott continues to create history for Trinidad and Tobago, advancing to the Olympic final of men's Javelin Throw with a herculean effort in his third and last attempt of the qualifying phase in London yesterday. 
Semoy Hackett is very satisfied with her performances at the Olympic Games here in London, England.
Keshorn Walcott left it for late, but qualified for the Men’s Javelin final at the Olympic Games, with his last toss of 81.75 metres in the qualification round at the Olympic Stadium, yesterday in London, England. The debutant kept his nerves despite not getting the start desired and placed 10th in the competition which saw 44 throwers battling for a spot in the final scheduled for Saturday from 2.20 pm. In his first attempt, the world junior champion reached 78.91. He followed that up with an unimpressive 76.44. “I didn’t do what I came out to do. The distance wasn’t my best, hopefully when it comes back to the final I will get a better throw,” said, the soft-spoken Walcott. He admitted that the entire Olympic experience may have distracted him somewhat, diverting him away from his strategy for the opening round. “I was a bit anxious and a bit nervous so I was just a little off, but things worked out for the better, so I will come back and hopefully do better.
Fear not T&T, Olympic bronze-medallist Lalonde Gordon has given his assurance that T&T 4x400m relay team can prosper, even in the absence of quartermiler Renny Quow. Quow’s Olympic experience came to a premature end, without him even stepping on the track here in London, England. He left on Monday for the United States to tend to a hamstring injury which has been troubling him for some time now. Annette Knott, chef de mission yesterday confirmed that the 400 metres specialist will not take part in the 30th Olympiad. “We didn’t want to chance him getting further injuries so he went back to the US to do therapy on the injured harmstring,” she said. Today, the men’s relay team, which will consist of a combination of Gordon, Ade Alleyne-Forte, Jarrin Solomon, Deon Lendore and Machel Cedenio, will look to dominate at the Olympic Stadium, competing in the first of two heats at 6.35 am T&T time. “We have a good chance of medaling although we don’t have Quow,” said Gordon. “All the guys should go under 45 so we have a good chance.”
SEMOY HACKETT became the first Trinidad and Tobago athlete to book a spot in the women’s 200-metres final in an Olympic Games.
Njisane Phillip dug deep into his reserves to produce a strong finish to his first Olympic campaign, the Trinidad and Tobago cyclist finishing seventh in the men's keirin, at the Velodrome, here in London, England, yesterday.