BIOGRAPHY (by Bernard Linley)
Won the 100m at the 1976 Montreal Games and became the first Trinidad & Tobago sportsman to capture an Olympic gold medal.
In 1970 he had made his international debut at the CAC Games in Panama (5th in 100m) and also won his first medal (bronze in 100m) at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. While studying at Eastern Michigan University (1971-75) Crawford reached the 100m final at the 1972 Olympics (but was injured soon after the start), and won the 100m silver medal at the Pan American Games in 1975. Earlier that same year he ran a windy 9.8 100m on the Arima track, where he clocked many fast times.
But 1976 was his year of years. Besides winning the Olympic crown he ran his fastest legal 100m and 200m times, and also qualified for the Olympic 200m final in which he was injured.
Hasely continued racing for another eight years (competing at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics) without attaining the same level of success, though in 1978 he won two medals at the Commonwealth Games (3rd in 100m, 2nd in 4x100m) and a gold medal in the sprint relay at the CAC Games.
Off the track, after his Olympic victory, Crawford was awarded the Trinity Cross, was depicted on postage stamps, and had a stadium and an aircraft of the national airline (BWIA) named after him.
