Juniors look ahead after World Championships
WITH the IAAF World Junior Championships behind them, some of Jamaica’s more prominent junior athletes are now looking forward to brighter things.
One such athlete is Tyler Mason, who produced an exceptional silver medal performance at the championships which was held in Eugene, Oregon.
Mason posted a new national junior record of 13.06 seconds in the 110-metre hurdles, behind Frenchman Wilhem Belocian who became the first junior to break the 13-second barrier when he clocked a super fast 12.99 seconds.
The 18-year-old Jamaica College student is now considering his career as a professional athlete and is tentative about competing at the ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletic Championships for one last time.
“This was my final year at juniors; I have another year at champs but let’s see how that goes. I have a lot to think about and going pro is at the top of the list, but let’s see how that works out as well,” he told the Jamaica Observer at the Norman Manley International Airport recently when the team returned home .
Reflecting on his performance at the championships, the soft-spoken athlete noted that the plan going into the race was to win, but he conceded that “second with a very good time is also commendable, so I am very happy about my performance”.
“The motivation was all with my mom. She has been pushing me to go to training, exercises and all of that, so I give all the commendation to her,” he added.
Meanwhile, high jumper Christoff Bryan, who achieved a new personal best of 2.26 metres at the championships will carry out further enhancement work at Kansas State University.
“I have one more year in school, but I will be leaving. I also have one more year at juniors so I will be back next year for Carifta or Pan Am,” he said.
The 18-year-old Wolmerian was placed fourth, despite clearing the same height of 2.26 metres as the medal winners due to the count-back rule.
World Youth 400-metre champion Martin Manley, who was a member of the 4×400-metre bronze medal team, took some positives from the championships and is now looking forward to the August 16-28 Youth Olympics in China, and also the 2016 World Junior Games in Russia.
“I will be leaving for China soon so I just have to go back to the drawing board and try and come back from the disappointment and plan ahead,” said the 17-year-old who attends St Jago High School.
Calabar’s Michael O’Hara said he will now be resting ahead of the new school year, before going back into training in October.
