'Best shot' brings Spence contentment

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Delhi, India:

After running four rounds of 200m and one leg each in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays for Jamaica at the 2010 Commonwealth Games here in Delhi, India, while suffering from a painful groin injury, double silver medallist Lansford Spence is returning home an exhausted fellow.

Spence, much unheralded before this Delhi outing, has demonstrated a level of self-sacrifice and commitment rarely witnessed among sportsmen and sportswomen these days, underlined by his lung-busting run in the 4x400m on virtually one leg.

With injuries running rife within the camp, Spence knew that after just running a leg on the silver-medal winning 4x100m relay team and twitching his groin, he would have to go out there again and defend the colours of his country.

He had done his shift and in the mixed zone after the race and he was clearly a spent man; limping and struggling to catch his breath.

Though the makeshift team finished outside the medals, it was a job well done by the Maurice Wilson-coached athlete, and through his laboured breathing and fatigued eyes a glitter of pride and fulfilment was clear.

Extremely hard

"It was hard, it was extremely hard but every time I went out there I just went out there determined to do my best," Spence managed.

"My groin started bothering me during the last race so that made it even more difficult, but I did my best to just push on and finish," he added.

Spence clocked a personal best 20.49 seconds to win silver in the men's 200m, before helping his team to a similar medal in the 4x100m relay while running the second leg. His effort also highlighted the bond within the Jamaica team in Delhi, and his determination to soldier on with his teammates was a major motivating factor for himself.

"I didn't want to let down the guys and the country," Spence said. "There was a job to be done and I was asked to do it and I gave it my best shot. We all knew it was going to be difficult but we really wanted to do well."

Spence, who is a specialist 400m athlete, has already shown that he can be a force on the international stage. What he is now showing is that he also has the maturity and team focus to push himself and others along the way.

Overall, despite failing in his bit to secure a third medal, the sprinter is pleased with the work that he has done here in Delhi.

"I had a good meet, I really enjoyed myself here and I'm definitely happy that I was able to be here," Spence said. "I'm going home with two medals so I give thanks for that."