Another Trinidadian who brought honour to his country.

​RAMJOHN, MANNIE
BIOGRAPHY
Born November 15, 1915; died January 23, 1998.
Mannie Ramjohn, the country boy from Gasparillo who ran barefooted and even competed internationally without running shoes, gave T&T's its first ever gold medal in 1946 when he won the 5,000 meters final at the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games in Baranquilla, Colombia.
As the story goes, three Mexicans and two Guatemalans faced the starter alongside Ramjohn. TheMexicans, who had the benefit of training at high altitude, were expected to sweep the field. However, exactly 15 minutes and 54.8 seconds later in what was a new record for the distance, Ramjohn created history when he edged Mexico’s Jesus Borgonio by a mere 0.2 seconds in a blistering sprint to the wire.
Two years later in 1948 he was one of five athletes at T&T's first showing at the Olympic Games at the Wembley Stadium where he competed in both the 5,000 and the 10,000 metres although he only made it to the final in the longer distance.
​Mannie was a country boy, born and bred in the village of Gasparillo and had an impressive career track record of 96 victories, 40 second-place and 13 third-place finishes from the meets he entered between 1936 and 1951.
The father of six boys and one girl also had a passion for scouting and joined the Fifth Naparima Boy Scout Group where he eventually became King Scout and Patrol Leader. To mind his family, Mannie Ramjohn worked as a senior research laboratory technician at Texaco. In 1982 he was awarded the Hummingbird Silver Medal for his contribution to sports and social work and he died at the age of 82 years in 1998.
Ramjohn's career included the following significant accomplishments:
1939 White City Games, London, England - 1 mile; 3 miles
1946 Central American and Caribbean Games, Barranquilla, Colombia - 5,000 meters (1st, 15:54.
1948 Olympics, London, England - 5,000 meters; 10,000 meters (Did not finish)
Awards
1948 - Wood Badge, The Scout Association of the United Kingdom
1973 - Medal of Merit, The Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago
1979 - Silver Ibis Award for meritorious service, The Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago
1980 - Silver Platter 50-Year Award, Point-a-Pierre District Scouts Association
1982 - Trinidad and Tobago Humming Bird Medal Silver for Social Work and Sport
Courtesy Caribbean Memory Project. (source: Virtual Museum of T&T, Oct 6, 2021)