MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Now that he has all but completed his track career as a schoolboy, Belfield High's Kemoy Campbell has his sights set on becoming the first middle- and long-distant runner to "win a gold medal" for Jamaica at a global event.

In March, Campbell -- the National Junior 1500m record-holder -- closed out his career at the Inter-Secondary School Sports Association/GraceKennedy Boys' Athletic Championship in an illustrious manner when he smashed his own records in the Class One 1500 and 5,000 metres with respective times of 3 minutes, 45. 54 seconds and 14 minutes, 18.58 seconds.

A couple weeks later, at the CARIFTA Games in the Cayman Islands, Campbell again grabbed the headlines as he set a new championship record in the Under-20 Boys 5000m with a time of 14:34.34 -- bettering the 14:40.67 he set last year after he had earlier won the 1500m.

He followed up those feats with a historic performance at last month's 116th staging of the Penn Relays Carnival in Philadelphia -- clocking a personal best 8 minutes 20.14 seconds in becoming the first Jamaican to win the 3,000m at the meet.

And now the 19-year-old, who resides in Rose Hill, Manchester, wants to take his recording-breaking performances to the global stage.

"I hope to take it further than Champs," Campbell told the Observer in a recent interview at Manchester High School.

"I want to go to the Olympics and... become the first Jamaican to win a gold medal in the distance running... That's basically my main aim and I think I can do it with encouragement from my family... and coach Dean Tomlin," he said.

Not getting the level of financial and or moral support from which his sprint counterparts benefit, Campbell said he's not the least perturb, but will be using this as extra motivation to change the face of distance running in Jamaica.

"I'm really motivated, my family and friends support me all the way and with the help of God I think I can reach the level I want to reach...," said the young man, who also wants to become a veterinarian.

"I want to create the way for distant runners in Jamaica so that the treatment that we get will be equal or almost equal to sprint runners.

"...I can change all that... because if I become the first to medal in the Olympics... that would be a great achievement and then they would place more emphasis on distant runners in Jamaica," envisioned Campbell.

The next big assignment for Campbell, who said he hopes to matriculate in a university overseas after completing his tenure at Belfield, is the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada from July 20-25.

And the NACAC Cross Country Junior champion said he's looking forward to it.

"I'm looking forward to World Juniors... I want to do pretty well, so that people can see that I'm in a good shape."

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  4 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  2 comments

  1 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments

  0 comments