Deon Kristofer Lendore (28 October 1992 – 10 January 2022) was a Trinidad and Tobago sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. He won a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and won medals at the Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, World Athletics Championships and World Athletics Indoor Championships. Lendore died in a car collision in Texas, United States, on 10 January 2022.
 Lendore at the 2016 World Indoor Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 October 1992 Arima, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Died | 10 January 2022 (aged 29) Milam County, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Texas A&M University |
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] |
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Running |
| Event | 400 metres |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | |
Medal record | |
Early life and college career
editLendore was born in Mount Hope, Trinidad and Tobago, where he started competing for Abilene Christian Wildcats.[3] He attended Queen's Royal College,[4] and later moved to Texas and attended Texas A&M University, where he competed in the school's track and field team from 2012–2014. In 2014, He won The Bowerman, which is the highest individual honor in NCAA track and field.[5][6] He had won all 14 events in the 2014 season, including the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships.[7]
Lendore later worked as a volunteer coach at Texas A&M University, from 2020 until 2022.[8]
Professional career
editLendore's first international event was the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics.[3] The year, he was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships.[9] In 2010 he competed in the World Athletics U20 Championships.[3]
Lendore won a silver medal in the 400 metres at the 2011 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Miramar, Florida.[10] He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that came third in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[11] He ran the final leg of the relay, and held off Briton Martyn Rooney.[3] Lendore was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that came second in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China.[11] Lendore competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,[11] He won a bronze medal at the 400 metres event at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships.[12] He was not selected for the Trinidad and Tobago relay team for the 2017 World Championships in Athletics.[12]
Lendore won a bronze medal at the 400 metres event at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships, after two athletes who finished ahead of him were disqualified.[13] He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that came fourth in the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[14] Later in the year, he was not awarded funding by his country's Incentives and Rewards Framework.[15] He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that won the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2019 IAAF World Relays in Yokohama, Japan.[12] In the same year, he was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that won the 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2019 Pan American Games.[16]
Lendore competed at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. In Tokyo, he reached the semi-finals of the 400 metres competition, and was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that finished eighth in the 4 × 400 metres relay event.[3] Later in the year, he finished third in the 400 metres event at the 2021 Diamond League event in Zürich.[8]
Competition record
edit
Death
editOn 10 January 2022, Lendore was involved in a car crash on FM 485 in Milam County in Texas and was pronounced dead at the scene.[3][18][19] A statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety said that three vehicles were involved in the collision, and they were investigating the events.[8] His funeral was held on 3 March,[20] and on the same day, Abilene Christian Wildcats announced that they would rename their annual track and field meeting after Lendore.[21]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Deon Lendore". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Lendore wins conference 400m in personal best run". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. 18 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "Olympic and world medallist Lendore dies". World Athletics. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "A Winning Stride". The Battalion. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Deon Lendore - Track and Field". Texas A&M Athletics - 12thMan.com.
- ^ "Former Texas A&M track star, Olympian dies in auto crash". 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Olympic Sprinter, Texas A&M Assistant Coach Deon Lendore Killed In Crash In Texas". Associated Press. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via Times News Express.
- ^ a b c "Olympic medalist Deon Lendore dies aged 29". CNN. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "WORLD JUNIOR ATHLETICS HISTORY ("WJAH") 2009". 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "Ahye sprints to gold at Pan Am". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 24 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "Deon Lendore: Trinidad and Tobago Olympic relay medallist dies in car crash at age 29". BBC Sport. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Adams, Tim (11 January 2021). "Olympic 4x400m medallist Deon Lendore killed in car crash". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Deon Lendore awarded bronze medal in IAAF World Indoor 400m final". KBTX-TV. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Results" (PDF). 2018 Commonwealth Games. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Laurence, Kwame (27 September 2019). "Lendore Left Out". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Men's 4 × 400 metres relay − Final − Results" (PDF). www.lima2019.pe. Lima Organizing Committee for the 2019 Pan and Parapan American Games (COPAL). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Deon Lendore". World Athletics. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Olympian Deon Lendore killed in crash". Trinidad Express Newspapers.
- ^ Koons, Zach (11 January 2022). "3-Time Olympian Deon Lendore Killed In Car Accident Monday". The Spun. SI.com. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said the crash happened on FM 485 in Milam County, Texas. Lendore, the driver of a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta, reportedly crossed over the center line and "sideswiped a vehicle" coming the opposite way. He continued and drifted over the center line again before crashing into a 2018 Infiniti SUV head-on. Lendore was pronounced dead at the scene.
- ^ "Tribute to Deon Lendore: "So many extraordinary achievements at such a young age…"". Wired 868. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Abilene Wildcats Track Classic to be renamed in Lendore's honour". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
