Jereem “The Dream” Richards produced a sizzling 43.87 seconds split on the second leg for Trinidad and Tobago, setting the stage for a solid World Athletics Championship men’s 4×400 metres final performance in Eugene, Oregon, USA, late on Sunday.

Dwight St Hillaire, Richards, 19-year-old Shakeem McKay and Asa Guevara teamed up for a fifth-place finish in three minutes, 00.03 seconds. United States ran away with gold in 2:56.17. Jamaica clocked 2:58.58 for silver, with bronze going to Belgium in 2:58.72.

Running blind out in lane nine, St Hillaire was efficient, keeping T&T in contention. The leadoff runner did a similar job, from lane two, in Saturday’s qualifying round.

“It was a different race plan,” St Hillaire told the Express. “Yesterday I had to run with everyone in front of me. This time I had everyone behind me. I knew that my only job was to have no one run up on me, so I tried my best to hold the back stretch, catch my rhythm, and on the home stretch just run as hard as I could and keep Jereem in the race.”

Richards blazed around the Hayward Field track to propel T&T into second spot, behind United States and just ahead of Jamaica. Only American Michael Norman was faster than Richards on the second leg, the individual 400m champion splitting 43.64 seconds to extend what was already a considerable lead.

“I got it in the mix,” said Jereem, “and my job was to make sure we were in the top three, give as much distance as I could for Shakeem, and keep us in the mix of the race. Honestly, I was a little bit tired coming into this, but when I hit the back stretch I got a different gear, and I was just thinking about trying to give the team the best opportunity possible to be successful.”

McKay ran with heart. Battling with adults, the teenager held his own in the first half of the race, and was third on the back straight. Coming home, however, the courageous debutant slipped to fifth.

“It was a great experience,” said McKay, “running with the top athletes of the world. Knowing I’m the baby on the track, I went out there and gave it my all, but it was a great experience getting to be in the mix with people who I used to watch on TV.”

Guevara was on fire for T&T on anchor, splitting 44.11 seconds as he fought relentlessly for the Red, White and Black. The 26-year-old left everything on the track, but his herculean effort could not get his team on the podium. T&T had to settle for fifth spot, the country’s best finish at Orgeon22.

Team leader Richards heaped praises on his troops, including Kashief King, who anchored for T&T in Saturday’s qualifying heat.

“I am very, very, very proud of Kashief and Shakeem because to be on a world stage at a young age, it could easily get you scared or throw off how you would normally run. They made very mature decisions and were strong and courageous enough to compete and toss up with the big boys.”

Richards, who finished sixth in the 200m final here in Eugene, said the exposure for McKay and King was very important.

“Now, going into lesser competitions, they have seen one of the highest levels. The experience from this meet should spill over for them for years to come. Hopefully, Shakeem goes on to do well, given the experience he had here, and same with Kashief.”

Running in the 4×4 final was a dream come true for McKay. He said his journey to Oregon22 was inspired by the late Deon Lendore, his clubmate at Abilene Wildcats.

“To be honest, he was everything. I made a promise to myself that I would make this team in his honour, and I’m extremely happy that I did. Deon helped me to get better, to do better, to live better with everyone, to live good with everyone,” McKay ended, “and it’s working out great for me.”