Jereem “The Dream” Richards competed at just one meet in the month of June. He made that outing count!

Richards travelled home from his training base in Florida, USA, for the NGC/NAAATT National Open Championships. On the opening day of the meet, he sounded a warning to his rivals, cruising to victory in his men’s 200 metres first round heat in 20.20 seconds.

Two days later, Richards returned to the Hasely Crawford Stadium track, winning his semi-final with an effortless 21.35 canter. It was the calm before the storm.

In the championship race, Richards produced a “Dream” run, shrugging off the distraction of pouring rain to mercilessly obliterate the field. It was a race against the clock, and the Trinidad and Tobago sprint star came out on top, his 19.83 seconds personal best going into the books as a new Championship record.

Thanks to that 19.83 sizzler – the fastest 200 ever recorded on T&T soil–Richards is the Trinidad Express Star of the Month for June.

Ahead of the Championships, Richards knew something special was on the cards.

“Before leaving Florida to come home to run,” the 28-year-old athlete told the Sunday Express, “Coach (Lance) Brauman told me I was ready to run 19.89 so I was excepting to run something fast.”

The 19.83 formula, Richards explained, was a simple one.

“A combination of prayer, hard work and consistency in practice, and a lot of confidence gained from my sports psychologist Liza Mohan-Watts.”

Richards is second on the all-time T&T 200m list, behind Ato Boldon, the national record holder at 19.77 seconds.

“The national record is definitely a target, but I’m mostly focused on making it to the podium each and every time I compete. I don’t want to limit myself to a set time (target) so my mindset is ‘the sky’s the limit’.”

Richards is joint-fifth on the 2022 world performance list with his 19.83 run, and goes into the July 15-24 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA as a contender for precious metal.

“My goals for the World Championships are to make the final and get a medal. I hope to go beyond my best (time) in a competitive field.”

After the Oregon Worlds, Richards will switch his focus to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, where he will bid to repeat as half-lap champion.

“I definitely hope to defend my Commonwealth Games title this year. It’s one of my goals for this season.”

In March, Richards captured the World Indoor Championship men’s 400m title in a Championship record time of 45 seconds flat. The clocking was also a new T&T indoor record. Three months later, he produced the 19.83 scorcher to establish himself as a genuine World Championship podium contender.

Richards is enjoying his best-ever season on the track. 2022, however, has been a bitter-sweet year. In January, he lost his friend and T&T team-mate Deon Lendore. The T&T track star died in a vehicular accident in Texas, USA.

At the National Championships, Richards wore his athlete number upside down in memory of his fallen comrade. Lendore had started a tradition at Texas A&M University when he accidentally

pinned on his number upside down.

“Honouring Deon this season is very important to me. I hope to make him proud,” Richards ended, “but also keep his memory alive in the world of track and field.”