THE year 2015 could be the year Julian Forte announced himself to the world. Well, that has been said for the last two years. But the smooth sprinter really believes the time has come for him to deliver on the international stage.

When asked if this will be his break-out year, Forte said: “I really hope so.”

“Every year since 2013, I have gotten this question and I answer it the same way. I really hope so,” he said

But after some thought, Forte gave a more substantial response to the lingering question.

“I mean my preparation has been coming along well and I feel I am a lot stronger this year. I think I am more seasoned this year and I have finished the transition period right now and I think that this year is definitely on my mind as a breakaway year,” he confirmed.

Forte was apart of a small band of athletes that starred in Wolmer’s Boys’ shock win at the ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championship in 2010.

He has since moved on to the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech), helping to propel that institution along with the likes of Andrew Fischer, Kemarley Brown, Kavean Smith and Tyquendo Tracey in a formidable force.

The band of runners has dominated the collegiate circuit locally, and has won at Penn Relays recently. The team of sprinters has even registered a victory over the world’s most feared sprinting club Racers, with the sprint king himself Usain Bolt on anchor, at the Gibson Relays in February.

Forte has been an integral part of UTech’s rise to the top, and he wants to take it further having clocked early season times of 20.19 and 10.12 seconds in his opening 200 and 100m events.

“My main goal is to represent Jamaica at an individual event at the World Championship this year, and I will take it from there. I am just really trying to put together some good performances,” said Forte, who actually started his track career as a long jumper.

But with Jamaica now regarded as the ‘sprint factory of the world’ and apace in producing top-class runners, Forte will have to step up big time to distinguish himself at the top. He hopes to run sub-10 and sub-20 clocking this year. He has personal bests of 10.03 and 20.19 seconds in the 100 and 200m sprints, respectively.

“I am feeling much stronger and it is showing in my times. I opened with 20.19 (200m) and it is the fastest I have ever opened for the 100m with 10.12. So it’s definitely a good sign for me and I am trying to build on that,” he noted.

With National Trials set for June 25-28 to select Jamaica’s team to the IAAF World Championship in August, Forte is not sure which event he will try his luck at, or which event he truly prefers.

“That’s a decision my coach and I [have to make]. We haven’t spoken about it yet, but I think he is conditioning me so that I am able to take on both events,” he added.

But first, Forte will be tested in the 200m at the Jamaica International Invitational meet where he will line up against American Tyson Gay (PB 19.58), Commonwealth Games champion Rasheed Dwyer (PB 19.98) and Nickel Ashmeade (PB 19.85) in a race that could measure his current form in the competetive world of sprinting.