:00:04. > :00:13.securing even more work. Time for World Olympic Dreams. We
:00:14. > :00:45.
:00:45. > :00:49.meet an athlete from Trinidad & Gentlemen, gentlemen, let's get
:00:49. > :00:52.ready to start the race. It is 9am at Queen's Park Savannah in Port of
:00:52. > :00:55.Spain. Before the heat of the day begins
:00:55. > :00:58.in earnest, pupils from Belmont Boys School are getting ready for a
:00:58. > :01:01.five-kilometre run. They take these things seriously around here.
:01:01. > :01:04.Belmont isn't the roughest part of the city but, away from the
:01:04. > :01:13.watchful eye of dedicated teachers, there are fears for the young men
:01:13. > :01:19.of Trinidad. There has been a crime explosion in the last 10 years.
:01:19. > :01:24.This is a young man who may have a role in changing that.
:01:24. > :01:28.Good luck to all of you. This is where it starts. Hopefully you will
:01:28. > :01:31.make the national team and then make it to the bigger stage of the
:01:31. > :01:34.World Championships and the Olympics. Good luck to all of you
:01:34. > :01:44.guys. Jehue Gordon hopes to be competing
:01:44. > :01:51.
:01:51. > :01:54.in the 400m hurdles at the London Olympics. Some say he was born
:01:54. > :02:04.special. His life has seen him overcome hurdles both on and off
:02:04. > :02:12.
:02:12. > :02:18.the track. I know a lot of people who have died already. Some in
:02:18. > :02:23.shoot-outs, some people I know are in jail.
:02:23. > :02:33.I feel like a proud mother bear. Especially when you consider where
:02:33. > :02:34.
:02:34. > :02:44.he has come from. I feel very proud. These children need someone to look
:02:44. > :02:53.
:02:53. > :03:03.up to. We need to get more athletes coming out of here.
:03:03. > :03:03.
:03:03. > :03:06.Just before the start of Lent, Port of Spain comes alive. The
:03:06. > :03:16.definition of the carnival is 'farewell to flesh'. These days,
:03:16. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:24.the original meaning seems to have slipped a little. The imagery is
:03:24. > :03:29.drawn from Trinidad's chequered past. Creole plantation owners,
:03:29. > :03:32.slavery, protest at colonial rule. It is a chance for a nation to let
:03:32. > :03:42.its hair down, party like there's no tomorrow and forget about their
:03:42. > :03:44.
:03:44. > :03:47.troubles. This beach is the epitome of a tropical paradise. Any self-
:03:47. > :03:56.respecting sports reporter would expect to find himself pitching up
:03:56. > :04:01.here sooner or later. This series is following 26 athletes from all
:04:01. > :04:06.around the world. We are going to places like Iraq and Afghanistan. A
:04:06. > :04:15.beach, a warm wind and a cold beer is new territory for us. Trinidad
:04:15. > :04:21.is in many ways classic Caribbean. But there is more to this country.
:04:21. > :04:25.It is a nation that is passionate about sport. Cricket and football
:04:25. > :04:35.vie with each other for the most favoured status. Being the
:04:35. > :04:35.
:04:35. > :04:38.Caribbean, they are pretty good at running, too. Just 19, Jehue Gordon
:04:38. > :04:45.is one of Trinidad and Tobago's brightest hopes for the next
:04:45. > :04:51.Olympics in London. He is a 400 metre hurdler. An operation on his
:04:51. > :04:56.foot recently means he is training gently at the moment.
:04:56. > :05:05.I have had some amazing things - a lot of crowd support, it gives me a
:05:05. > :05:09.lot of pleasure. People will do anything to get a gold medal. I am
:05:09. > :05:15.not just happy with making the final, I want to get that gold
:05:15. > :05:25.medal. I want to be the best in the world. Getting that gold medal
:05:25. > :05:25.
:05:25. > :05:32.would be a big inspiration. If he achieves that goal, it will
:05:32. > :05:36.be due in no small part to both his physical and spiritual strength. He
:05:36. > :05:41.believes that it is his faith in God that has helped him get where
:05:41. > :05:44.he is today. It was interesting this morning,
:05:44. > :05:54.talking about Jesus Christ, seeking him in times of need. No humans can
:05:54. > :05:56.
:05:56. > :06:05.save us, only God can save us. Do you think there is a tie between
:06:05. > :06:09.sport and religion? I think God has a big role to play.
:06:09. > :06:19.If you are injured or things are not going well or as you expect
:06:19. > :06:19.
:06:19. > :06:24.them to be, he is the one that can keep you on the righteous path.
:06:24. > :06:28.In order to get a better idea where he grew up, we decide to go for a
:06:28. > :06:38.Sunday drive. In these parts, that involves a Jeep and a driver with a
:06:38. > :06:43.
:06:43. > :06:48.head for heights. The hills just north of the capital are where
:06:48. > :06:58.Jehue Gordon grew up. He spends his time on a more level playing field
:06:58. > :06:59.
:06:59. > :07:04.these days. But these hills are important to him. All of the roads
:07:04. > :07:08.are on a slope around here. It is a good place to train. It gives you
:07:08. > :07:11.the strength that you really need. Every time you come out of the
:07:11. > :07:14.house, you have got to go either up a steep slope or down.
:07:14. > :07:19.Yes. It is really working on the legs.
:07:19. > :07:23.That is all you have ever known. From whenever you could walk, it
:07:23. > :07:33.has been on a slope. Yes. Going up the hill, down the
:07:33. > :07:33.
:07:33. > :07:39.hill, up the stairs, down the stairs. I think it has really
:07:39. > :07:44.helped. I do a lot of hill work. Jehue Gordon's first experience of
:07:44. > :07:48.an international sports event was at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He
:07:48. > :07:54.was only there as a spectator but it instilled in him a desire to
:07:54. > :08:04.push himself to the limit. When he came home from China, something
:08:04. > :08:05.
:08:05. > :08:08.happened here that made his sports career even more important.
:08:08. > :08:12.I was in the house when everything was destroyed. There was a major
:08:12. > :08:18.landslide. It was actually in the room that I was in. It came into
:08:18. > :08:28.the room. It was scary at that point. I could have lost my life.
:08:28. > :08:28.
:08:28. > :08:33.After that, the next week, a lady was killed by a landslide. I was
:08:33. > :08:43.truly grateful to survive. I decided that I had to get a way out
:08:43. > :08:47.of here. I trained hard and my family supported me. I knew at that
:08:47. > :08:56.point that I was supposed to be good at running to help my family
:08:56. > :09:00.out of that position. It has not been a bad start. After
:09:00. > :09:04.bursting onto the scene with a 4th place at the World Championships in
:09:04. > :09:06.Berlin when he was 16, he got gold in the World Youth Championships in
:09:06. > :09:11.Canada last year. Success in sport is a distraction
:09:11. > :09:15.that Trinidad could do with these days. The country has, as yet,
:09:15. > :09:21.failed to cash in on its huge natural resources. Areas of the
:09:21. > :09:24.capital have become a breeding ground for crime.
:09:24. > :09:31.Gang warfare, drug trafficking and a gun culture - a life that many
:09:31. > :09:33.young men Jehue Gordon's age are drawn into.
:09:33. > :09:39.Some of my friends have died already.
:09:39. > :09:49.In violence? In crime. Some are in jail. Some
:09:49. > :09:50.
:09:50. > :09:53.were even younger than me. It is sad to see.
:09:53. > :09:59.Why do you think that affects Trinidad or these people the way
:09:59. > :10:09.that it does? To tell you the truth, people see
:10:09. > :10:12.
:10:12. > :10:14.Trinidad as a really small country. So much crime is very demotivating.
:10:14. > :10:18.I think they need the right foundation because the foundation
:10:18. > :10:22.is really not stable enough at home, especially when they don't have the
:10:23. > :10:28.right support group around them. Sometimes the parents are into
:10:28. > :10:32.drugs. What else can the kids do apart from drugs if they don't have
:10:32. > :10:36.somebody else there have to tell them that this is not what is
:10:36. > :10:44.recommended of you or that is not what you should be doing? One
:10:44. > :10:52.parent telling them one thing and It is sobering to find out the
:10:52. > :10:56.talent in the young men growing up around him. There has been a 400 %
:10:56. > :11:01.rise in the murder rate over the past 30 years, some 30 murders per
:11:01. > :11:05.100,000 people here make it one of the highest rates in the world. The
:11:05. > :11:14.Port of Spain rivals Kingston in Jamaica and Johannesburg as one of
:11:14. > :11:24.the most dangerous places to live. So what has kept him on the
:11:24. > :11:27.straight and narrow? A visit to his school should give us some clues.
:11:27. > :11:37.Just like that other Caribbean running sensation Usain Bolt,
:11:37. > :11:40.
:11:40. > :11:44.Jehue's first sporting love was cricket. He first picked up a bat
:11:44. > :11:49.here. What did his first the teacher think of him as a sportsman
:11:49. > :11:59.from the start? Yes, what I was afraid of though was his stature.
:11:59. > :12:01.
:12:01. > :12:07.He was very slim. When he said, Miss I will do it, like run the 800
:12:07. > :12:14.metres, I doubted myself and I doubted him at the time. But I
:12:14. > :12:19.thought, do not judge a book by its cover. And after that, I knew that
:12:19. > :12:26.he was on his way. By the time he got to Belmont Boys', he had
:12:26. > :12:36.already discovered that he had a talent for running fast. It reminds
:12:36. > :12:38.
:12:38. > :12:44.me of my first day of school and coming home. It was here that a
:12:44. > :12:49.teacher first saw his potential for running over hurdles. Belmont Boys'
:12:49. > :12:58.is a model school and the teacher has a deep passion for their pupils.
:12:58. > :13:06.How does seeing an old boy doing so well make her feel? Proud. I look
:13:06. > :13:16.at how he leaps over those hurdles. And I am envious. I wish that I had
:13:16. > :13:18.
:13:18. > :13:23.that kind of talent. He has come such a long way from before, when
:13:23. > :13:28.he was just a boy trying to find his way. And now he is really
:13:28. > :13:38.confident. So I am proud of that and I am proud as how he has
:13:38. > :13:40.
:13:40. > :13:46.developed as a person. You do not need to go far to find what she is
:13:46. > :13:49.talking about. Belmont is a suburb known for its crime rate. I met up
:13:49. > :13:59.with a Trinidad & Tobago football legend, and when you're with a
:13:59. > :14:02.
:14:02. > :14:12.local hero, you need to try the local food. Now I have learned
:14:12. > :14:26.
:14:26. > :14:31.something. Now, how do you eat it? That is nice. It is very tasty.
:14:31. > :14:37.has made it to the top in his sport and he knows just how lonely that
:14:37. > :14:40.journey can be for athletes in Trinidad. We like to see people do
:14:40. > :14:47.well, before we get on the bandwagon and give them support,
:14:47. > :14:52.which is a shame. Hopefully, you should get that support. How is it
:14:52. > :15:02.after your sports career? You are a role model for everybody. It is
:15:02. > :15:05.
:15:05. > :15:08.tremendous. We do not have enough role models in this country. It is
:15:08. > :15:18.good to come back and trying to do things that will uplift the
:15:18. > :15:21.community. It is good from that perspective. But if we take time to
:15:21. > :15:25.nurture some of the athletes before, we would have a lot more role
:15:25. > :15:29.models. Let's hope that our young hurdler is up to the job, he is
:15:29. > :15:32.still only a teenager after role. When you are here in Trinidad, you
:15:32. > :15:42.obviously have your studies and the university and your training. What
:15:42. > :15:44.
:15:44. > :15:50.else does life bring? It involves sleeping enough, a lot. I eat. I
:15:50. > :15:55.sleep, I train and then it is straight back to sleep. I love to
:15:55. > :16:05.play video games apart from that, in my free time I like to see my
:16:05. > :16:09.
:16:09. > :16:12.friends and go to the movies sometimes. And that is basically it.
:16:12. > :16:22.And from now until whatever Olympics in the future that he
:16:22. > :16:23.
:16:23. > :16:27.decides will be his last, it is day after day, week after week, of this.
:16:27. > :16:31.When you are actually engaged in sports, you had a cold and they
:16:31. > :16:36.look after you and you have members of the team that will guide you and
:16:36. > :16:46.keep you up-to-date and say that you need to do this. It gives you
:16:46. > :16:47.
:16:47. > :16:51.some sort of security. You have your whole family to watch you. And
:16:51. > :16:54.it is like a way that you can do it, because sometimes you have the
:16:54. > :16:57.opportunity and you have the guidance to elevate yourself in
:16:57. > :17:02.this society and make a better person of yourself. His coaches
:17:02. > :17:12.think that he is getting that right. He has that ability to work hard.
:17:12. > :17:19.
:17:19. > :17:23.He is extremely talented. And he does not complain, he never
:17:23. > :17:30.complains. His studies. He just does what has to be done to be a
:17:30. > :17:34.champion. This is in many ways, a country that has a lot to sing
:17:34. > :17:43.about. Stunning scenery, rich natural resources and their laid-
:17:43. > :17:50.back approach to life. But I sense that they could do with something,
:17:50. > :17:56.or someone, you knew how to inspire them. Back home in Maraval, Jehue
:17:56. > :17:59.pops back into the local barber's for a haircut. It is more a place
:17:59. > :18:03.for the local kids to gather and watch their Premiership heroes than
:18:03. > :18:07.have their hair cut. Trinidad & Tobago has only won one gold
:18:07. > :18:13.Olympic gold medal. And he has had the national stadium named after
:18:13. > :18:18.him. If only they knew that they had a local hero on their doorstep,
:18:18. > :18:23.they may look up to him. Does he inspire you personally on a day-to-
:18:23. > :18:33.day basis? Yes. Sometimes, there are pressures of work and studies
:18:33. > :18:39.
:18:39. > :18:49.and they get to you. But when I want to give up, I look at him. I
:18:49. > :18:53.
:18:53. > :18:57.keep the scraps from the newspapers. And I say, you have made a
:18:57. > :19:00.difference in somebody's life. Do not give up. His is a tropical
:19:00. > :19:04.paradox. He grew up in a place where the climate and geography can
:19:04. > :19:09.bring out the athletic best in any young man. But it is a country
:19:09. > :19:17.where it is easy to get lost along the way. Do you think that Trinidad
:19:17. > :19:21.needs heroes? Yes I think that we need a lot of heroes. And sometimes
:19:21. > :19:28.people do not have anybody to talk to or to look up to, because we're
:19:28. > :19:32.seeing wrong things going on in the community. So if you can really
:19:32. > :19:36.have that guidance by somebody else, somebody who can relate to it, it
:19:36. > :19:39.is really inspiring for some people to see, I can sit around and talk
:19:39. > :19:43.to this person and they really understand what they are going
:19:43. > :19:51.through and you can assure them that you do not have to limit
:19:51. > :20:01.yourself because of the situation that you are in. You can grow up to
:20:01. > :20:03.
:20:03. > :20:06.do things. Most people who are into sports are actually people that
:20:06. > :20:10.came out of the ghetto, and they are some of the best people today
:20:10. > :20:20.in society. Being in Trinidad, you actually see the contrast of this
:20:20. > :20:23.
:20:23. > :20:29.country. It is like a beach country. It is like a beach
:20:29. > :20:39.country. It is like a beach paradise. There are severe issues,
:20:39. > :20:49.poverty and gains. -- gangs. And Jehue has some of those contracts
:20:49. > :20:49.
:20:49. > :20:52.going on as well. He feels under pressure to be a role model. One of
:20:52. > :20:56.the main driving forces of his sports career is not about the
:20:56. > :21:06.medals and not about the individual success, it is about taking his
:21:06. > :21:11.
:21:11. > :21:21.family away from that house which is from the hillside. There was a
:21:21. > :21:22.