Ato is in Los Angeles, California, where he is soon to receive his private pilot's licence.

That should not surprise any of you who know that he is constantly trying to learn new things.

Yes, we know that athlete/pilot is not a common mix. 

He's always been atypical.

He has also signed on to be the key member of the 2005 MAKING A DIFFERENCE program in Trinidad and Tobago - geared to helping and motivating the youth of that country.

For those who have emailed us, wondering which continent he will be broadcasting from this year, and for what broadcast station, well, as soon as the deal is finalized, we will let you know.

A BRIEF HISTORY....

What did Ato do from 1992-2004 while representing Trinidad and Tobago?  He's went to 6 World Championships, one of them a world junior championship, in Seoul, South Korea, in 1992.  He's brought home 3 gold medals, and two bronzes from "WORLDS".  

He's been to FOUR Olympic Games, and brought home 4 medals of that variety, tying him with American legend Carl Lewis and Namibian stalwart Frankie Fredericks for the most individual Olympic sprint medals in a career, in history. 

 Throw in Goodwill Games gold and silver medals in 1998, a Commonwealth Games gold and 100m record, Geo-Area records for both the 100 and 200m at 9.86 and 19.77, 28 sub-10 second 100m (#2 all-time) and 9 sub-20 200m (#4 all-time), and countless victories in "Grand Prix" cities from Monaco to Athens and you STILL don't get an idea of what he meant to his country, and his sport, not to mention the number of Caribbean and world sprinters coming onto the scene who will try to emulate the charisma and class he brought to track for 12 years.  

(A visit to the guestbook will give you more of a sense of how wide his appeal has been to the global community.  People from all walks of life, people who never cared about track before, couldn't help but respect the way he competed, voiced his many opinions and the way he unwaveringly stood up for his country AND his Caribbean region.

He was even described by the always-tough Trinidad media as "the only athlete from Trinidad and Tobago capable of being interviewed anywhere, about anything".

  He has helped, with his training partner, to revolutionize the 100m event.  Statistically, no other 100m runner in history other than Maurice Greene has better career numbers.  Do you notice everyone doing the ''drive phase" pattern for their sprint races?  In its current form, it was perfected by John Smith, Ato's coach of 10 years, who taught it to both Mo and Ato.  That is a huge part of Ato's legacy.  Each great athlete has one thing that he/she does better than any other, and for Ato, his name will forever be synonymous with the "same day, 100/200m double".  Ato did that on six different occasions - running a sub-20 second 200m about an hour after running a 100m dash under 10 seconds. The USA's Calvin Smith pioneered it, and did it on one occasion.  Ato did it six times in five years (96-2000).  No other sprinter has done it since, and not for lack of trying.

Ato's career numbers make him one of the best ever.

A HALL OF FAME CAREER.

  In two events.

But don't take our word for it.

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