Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU
IT WILL be a while before new national men's 400m champion Lansford Spence is mistaken for someone else after he ran into the consciousness of track and field fans at the JAAA National Senior and Junior Trials at the National Stadium in June.
Commentators continuously mistook Spence for another Lansford in the event, Lansford Davis.
A native of the small Hanover town of Clifton, Spence, a former Rusea's High and GC Foster College runner, tripped near the line and dived head first across the line to win his first national senior title, landing a spot in the 400m race at August's IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland.
The 22-year-old, who is now enrolled at Auburn University in Alabama, told The Gleaner nothing could keep him from crossing the tape first.
"I just told myself no matter what I was going to cross the line first, I have to get there first."
Spence won in a personal best 44.77 seconds, despite tying up near the end of the race and falling face first on the hard Mondo track.
It was his first time running under 45.00 seconds. Spence said his coach at Auburn, Ralph Spry, always told him he could run fast, if he got himself race-fit.
Spence, who attracted attention from other colleges after high school, said he was not surprised to have won the race as he had trained hard this season and was ready for whatever happened at trials.
Going into the finals, Spence said he was watching last year's winner, former Munro College and Ardenne runner, Brandon Simpson, as his major threat.
Spence said Simpson had looked really relaxed in the semis and looked as if he was ready to run fast.
Both athletes would have raced against each other for nearly 10 years since both got into serious competition at Western Champs. At Rusea's, Spence was coached by Binsford Bailey, who he credited with giving him a good start in the sport.
Spence said choosing track and field was an easy choice as he thought it was "my best way out and to make a future for myself."
However, it was a long route from Rusea's to where he is today. After spending two years at GC Foster, where he came under the guidance of Maurice Wilson and completed his Associate's Degree in Physical Education, Spence took up a scholarship to Lincoln University in Missouri but spent one semester before heading to Auburn.
LATE ENTRY
In 2000 when he was expected to do well at Champs, Rusea's entry was late and was not accepted. However, Spence made amends by placing second to former Jamaica College runner Sekou Clarke and making the Jamaica team to the CARIFTA Games that year.
At Western Champs 2000 he was second behind then Williams Knibb runner Marvin Anderson in the 200m and third in the 400m behind Munro's Franz Bernard and Junior Burnett of Black River High.
Despite twice representing Jamaica at the senior level, running on mile relay teams at the 2002 Pan-Am Seniors and the 2003 World Championships in France, Spence was somewhat of an unknown to most track fans.
Not being a household name does not bother the soft-spoken Hanoverian. He says his short-term aim is to make the finals of the 400m in Helsinki.
After winning at trials, his first order of business was to head to the small town of Clifton, just outside of Lucea, to visit his mother, his biggest fan.
