He was chosen for the relay for the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic team, but did not have an individual place because he had not achieved the Olympic "A" qualifying standard. His mother paid for a flight to the US National Club Championship in Omaha in July and he improved his best with a winning run of 45.02 seconds. Having achieved the "A" standard, he headed to England in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics. He marked himself out as a medal contender by winning his semi-final with the fastest qualifying time – an unexpectedly quick best of 44.58 seconds. He bettered that time again to take the bronze medal in 44.52 seconds in the 400 m Olympic final, becoming only the second man from his nation to take an Olympic medal in the event (after Wendell Mottley's silver in 1964). Boosted by his performance, he encouraged the relay team to perform just as well and a team of Gordon, Jarrin Solomon, Ade Alleyne-Forte and Deon Lendore ran a national record of 3:00.38 minutes to win their qualifier. The quartet went even faster in the final and pipped Britain to the bronze medal position with a time of 2:59.40 minutes, becoming the country's second medalling team in the event (again achieved by Mottley at the 1964 Olympics).