DOHA, Qatar — In 1983, Jamaica’s Bert Cameron stood atop the podium one of the proudest men alive. He had won the men’s 400m and was the country’s first gold medallist at the newly-formed World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

Now, 36 years later, Cameron is awaiting that moment when he can hears and sing the National Anthem again, this time as a coach, a fan and more importantly as a Jamaican.

“Hopefully one day soon, while I am still alive, I can stand up and listen the National Anthem, not just about the 100m, the 200m and long jump, but a 400m — male or female — to make me say ‘yes’,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Cameron, who turns 60 years old in November, remembers that special day like it was yesterday.

“It was a tremendous feeling for me and I can understand the young man Tajay (Gayle), he is the first gold medallist in that event. Nobody can take that away from him,” Cameron told the Observer at the team’s Curve Hotel Sunday.

He was referring to Gayle’s historic long jump gold — the first Jamaican to do so in a national record of 8.69m, the 10th best in the history of the event.

“When the guy came over to him (Gayle) and ask him his feeling and he said it was the best day of his life, I too can understand that because at that time when I won the gold medal, it was the best day of my life. But I said I was on cloud nine,” he noted.

“I am sitting here talking and I am looking at the event and I can see the event and how I felt. I felt like I was untouchable. I felt like I was the only one in the arena. I felt like a gladiator,” he explained.

“I enjoyed people just come to me and stop me and ask me for an autograph, from this little boy out of Spanish Town. I enjoyed that, and as a gold medal winner. I never forget, and every time I go in my house, I see the medal on the wall,” said a smiling Cameron.

Cameron, who is regarded as Jamaica’s best quarter-miler, won the only gold at the 1983 games for Jamaica, as the island picked up just three medals.

Cameron captured that historic gold in 45.05 and had behind him two Americans in Michael Francks, who clocked 45.22, and Sunder Nix, who took bronze with 45.24.

“At that time Jamaica didn’t have a lot of athletes, we had 15 or 20 and we didn’t expect to get a whole lot of medals. Now it’s different,” he emphasised.

“If you get a bronze medal or a silver medal, nobody remembers you because of what Bolt has done for the country, and in that era there were a lot of people following like Shelly and Veronica and all those people. So gold medal was the talk of the day.”

He continued: “Back in our days, if you get a bronze medal or even make it to the final it was something because the bar was kind of low.

“That time we didn’t get money. There was no prize money, just bragging rights and the medal. I don’t even know if it’s gold,” he said laughing.

“But I left a mark, and my mark was first World Champion and the momentum was going great as in 1984 was the Olympic Games and you know what that turned out to be,” he said.

That reference was to his ordeal while running in the semi-finals. Cameron grabbed his leg at the half-way point as a result of an injury but in one of the most courageous efforts and great comebacks, he resumed running and qualified for the final. But the injury took its toll and he was unable to take the track.

“People don’t remember me about the World Championship win, they more remember me about the semi-finals in the Olympics. But that’s not what I remember. I remember myself as the world champion. The medal is very important as history has shown that I am a world champion,” he reiterated.

Now Cameron is a member of Jamaica’s coaching team and is responsible for the 400m male runners. He believes the time is near for one of them to deliver on the global stage.

“Now, as a coach, I still get nervous especially having athletes going out there that you personally coach. I still get the jitters as if I was running. I still feel the adrenaline,” he admitted.

“I am a part of the build-up. I help create certain things and now I am waiting to see another world champion. We have some young guys doing well in Bloomfield, Allen, Demish and McDonald.

“They just need to be managed properly and understand what it takes and understand that it cannot just be talent alone because everybody who runs the race has talent; you have to be mentally tough,” he pointed out.

“If you are not mentally tough, you need to find a different event, because when you hear ‘ready, set, go’ and you have to sprint all the way around the track, you have to be mentally tough and I believe that’s why we haven’t produced a quarter-miler as yet to go on the Olympic stage or World Championship,” he added.

“Right now our mile relay team will be awesome and I hope they put their best foot on the track. I am building them mentally and I believe it is working. We just have to wait and see as coaches. We can’t go out there to run for them,” said Cameron.