It just felt natural to me and I loved the challenge,” said Trinidad and Tobago javelin thrower Keshorn Walcott, as he discussed the sport that propelled him to international fame. “I would push myself each and every day and say I want to throw further than the day before. And then I want to throw even further tomorrow.

“I knew that it may not happen tomorrow so I would have to train even harder than I did today. For me, it was the challenge.”

At just 23, Walcott’s CV already includes the rarest of sporting footnotes: Olympic champion.

Four years ago, the Toco teenager was a bolt out of the blue in London. There were exactly three and a half years between the first time Walcott threw a javelin and when he beat the world at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Predictably, there have been lows since as he has struggled with injuries and form. But, for the Rio Games, Walcott will carry the flag for Trinidad and Tobago, as the Land of the Hummingbird again prepares to punch above its weight.

Walcott took time before his assault on the world’s  most popular sporting event to chat one on one withWired868:

Wired868: What’s different about this Olympic Games for you?

Keshorn Walcott: The biggest difference for me is experience. The last three years have been a really good experience for me in terms of failure and success. So I’m going in with a little more experience which would be a major factor for me…

In 2012, I was a junior, so I went straight from the World [Youth Championships] into the London Olympics [just a month later]… As a junior, I was throwing from January straight to the Olympics [in August]. I’m getting older now and I’ve got to [pace] myself (…) so we can peak at the right moment.

Wired868: What’s it like when you compete since London 2012? Do people turn around when they hear your name?

Walcott: I think when people hear my name they have a certain expectation [from me] in the competition. Most of my meets are in Europe because javelin is not done much on this side of the world.read more