Faith, patience pays off with Tokyo silver for Jereem

For the second straight year, Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Jereem Richards put his all on the track in a global 400-metre final to shatter the national record. At the National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan in the World Athletics Championships on September 18, Richards produced a brilliant run from lane two to snatch silver in the men's 400m final in a stunning time of 43.72 seconds, just dipping under the 43.78 time he ran at the 2024 Paris Olympics to set a then-national record.

In last year's Olympic final, Richards' 43.78 clocking saw him agonisingly finishing outside of the medals in fourth as Zambia's Muzala Samukonga took bronze in 43.74 to keep the Point Fortin athlete off the podium. On a wet Tokyo track, there was no stopping the 31-year-old Richards, the lone survivor from the 2024 400m Olympic final, from a podium finish this time around. He ran the near-perfect race on his way to redemption to clinch his country's second medal in an entertaining evening session.

Botswana's Busang Collen Kebinatshipi, who clocked a world-leading time of 43.61 in the semis, showed that was no fluke as he won gold by running a personal best and a new world-leading time of 43.53 in the final. Another Botswana runner, Bayapo Ndori, also finished among the medals as he clocked a season's best of 44.20 to claim bronze.

"After missing out on a medal last year at the Olympic Games, and not having medalled at a major outdoor championships since 2017, sometimes as an athlete, it gets a bit discouraging," Richards told a reporter after the race. "I've been thinking about it for a while, coming to these championships and leaving empty-handed. I didn't give up. I kept asking God for patience and he gave me. And when my time came, it came, so I'm just thankful to God for blessing me with this medal."

Aside from his faith and trust in God, Richards has been able to rely on a strong family support system, which also gives them the fuel and drive he needs to keep going. Also, the former world indoor champ wants to make good on the goals he set himself as a youngster.

"I saw myself doing all these great things and achieving all these medals. When I think about giving up, I think about that young Jereem who wanted to win, who wanted to be on the podium, and I keep working hard to get to those goals."

Back in Trinidad, in Richards' hometown, the energy was electric and vibrant as the athlete's closest friends and relatives gathered at the family home for a breakfast watch party to view the final. With the race scheduled for a 9.10 am start TT time, Richards' sister Brittney Richards-Nelson and roughly 15-20 eager supporters looked on as their hero competed on the world stage yet again. Brittney told Newsday that gathering at the family home is a customary one, and they made sure to send their blessings across the globe before Jereem took his place in the blocks.

This was Jereem's season

"Of course, we had faith he could get a medal. Normally, what we do before any major event like that is that we would pray. Ten minutes or so before the race which was 9 o'clock, we huddled in a circle, everybody held hands and we said a prayer for him," Brittney said.

In the build-up to the final, Jereem ran 44.64 to win his heat on September 14, before improving to a then-season's best time of 44.12 on September 16 to place third in the second semi behind the impressive Kebinatshipi and Jamaica's Rusheen McDonald.

Progressing to the final with the third-best time and as the fastest non-automatic qualifier, Jereem said he was trusting God's plan as he continued his quest for a world champs medal. The good book says faith without works is dead, and Jereem definitely put in the work in Tokyo and gave a run that bettered his monumental effort in Paris last year.

Kebinatshipi was flying in lane five, while South Africa's Zakithi Nene also had a brisk start from lane seven and assumed a top-three spot for the first 300 metres or so. When the athletes made the turn and came into the final straight, a composed Jereem showed his form and surged past the other competitors, and looked to even have Kebinatshipi in his sights at one stage. The Trinidadian had a strong kick to finish the race, but so did Kebinatshipi, who held his own to shatter his personal best from two days prior.

"We were elated because (lane two) is a hard lane to run out of. For my brother to run back up on them like that in a national record time, we were so, so elated," Brittney said.

Running out of lane eight, a storming Ndori made up significant ground to just pip McDonald on the line and take bronze. McDonald finished fourth in 44.28 – a feeling the Richards family knows all too well.

For Brittney and the band of excited supporters, it was a moment they had been waiting for since that fateful day on August 7, 2024, when Jereem's dip on the line couldn't quite give him Olympic reward. She said Jereem's run should be a message to all that everything happens in its season.

"Anybody could take away from this. You work hard for something and it doesn't work out how you envision it, but that doesn't mean that you stop or give up. You continue working towards it because your time will come. Everybody has their time and their season. It's just a matter of being faithful, trusting the timing and trusting God," Brittney said.

Jereem's run was arguably made more special as it followed a gold-medal throw by teammate Keshorn Walcott in the men's javelin final just 90 minutes before. A winner of the men's javelin at the London 2012 Olympics, a golden Walcott finally delivered on the World Championships stage with a throw of 88.16 metres to beat a stacked field in the Tokyo final.

When asked how the feats will be celebrated back home, Jereem said, "I pray they celebrate it because we're only a population of 1.4-1.5 million and we were able to come back with two medals – a gold and a silver. By the way, Keshorn Walcott is my roommate, so there has to be some kind of greatness in that room. I hope our country appreciates us as athletes and what we do for the country. (with reporting by Stephon Nicholas)