Trinidad and Tobago's Jehue Gordon, 18, struck gold in the men's 400 metres hurdles finals at the 13th IAAF World Junior (under 20) Championships in Athletics in Moncton, Canada Friday. Gordon finished with 49.30 seconds to win TT's first medal at the global meet. Takatoshi Abe of Japan was second in a personal best of 49.46 seconds. Third place went to Leslie Murray of the U.S. Virgin islands who completed the race in 50.22 seconds.
''I feel a bit tired, but I'm very happy. Coming home on the straight, I actually felt the presence of the Japanese coming on to me, I just didn't know what to do, exactly, so I just went ahead and held him off," Gordon told reporters after the race.
"I slowed up a bit too much but I'm satisfied that I got the gold medal," he added.
It's the fifth win overall for Trinidad and Tobago in the history of the championships. In 1992 Ato Boldon took the 100/200 sprint double in Seoul, South Korea. Ten years later Darryl Brown ran away with the 100m title in Kingston, Jamaica.
Jehue, who attended Belmont Boys and Queen's Royal College, began his international career at the age of 16, placing fifth in the 2008 World Junior Championships Athletics.
He went on to finish third in the 400 metre hurdles at the 2008 Carifta games and won gold the following year. In the 2009, World Junior Championship in Athens, Greece, he set a world-age best record and a senior national record with a 48.26 second 400- metre hurdle run.
Jehue has also been chosen by the BBC as one of 25 athletes to follow for the next two years leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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