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Gold from good food

Trecia Smith - reuters

GOOD FOOD, A determined and winning spirit are what relatives of Trecia Smith are attributing her golden performance at the IAAF World Championships where she won the gold in the women's triple jump.

Donovan Thomas, Smith's brother said home-grown food helped to prepare Smith for her world class performance. "The yard-grown food in Jamaica help to build har. Like some good rice porridge and yam and banana, good food," he told THE STAR. Smith jumped her way to gold over two days of competition in Helsinki, Finland, sparking celebration across the island particularly in Grange Hill, Westmore-land where she grew up and also in Brooklyn, New York where her mother and some of her siblings live. "I was cooking when my cousin in Jamaica call and told me.

Excited

"When I heard I was so excited I turned off the stove and started jumping and screaming. I am proud of my little sister," Shelly Thomas,said.

Hours after Smith had won the gold medal, the family was still trying to notify Smith's mother who was at work and did not see the jumps.

In Jamaica, Donovan said he is very proud of his sister and he always encouraged her to do her best. "When she come fourth inna Olympics, mi tell har seh she caan win di gold and mi want har fi get di g-o-l-d this time," he said. While watching the competition yesterday he knew she was on the verge of victory. "When she jump 14.91 mi seh to one a bredren, a trouble. When she jump 15.11, I say its all over," he told THE STAR.

Donovan said when Smith was younger, she had always showed a strong interest in jumping. "When she was small, she did fine and she did love high jump and long jump and she use to do dat a lot, but when she go to college she started to do the triple jump," he said. Donovan says he is expecting great things from his sister who could even break the world record for the longest jump with hard work.

Winning attitude

Donovan and Shelly both said they knew that their sister could have won, because she has a winning attitude. "When she use to come second she use to cry, but mi always encourage her that she can do better," he said.

Shelly said on Saturday night when the family realised that Smith was going into the finals in second place, they prayed and asked God to help her to win. Although the world champion did not compete this year, Shelly said she does not believe it would have affected the outcome. "That would have been stiff competition because she (Smith) goes after what she wants," she said.

As to their expectations of Smith in the future, the family says they expect greater things from the World Champion. "The sky is the limit," Shelly said.