If ever there was an ideal student athlete, J’Voughnn Blake of Jamaica College (JC) comes close to being him.

For Blake, brain and brawn go together.

Apart from his promise on the track, Blake is blazing a trail with the books, having recently secured nine Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects — all in grade ones. He could get a another pass as he awaits the result of English literature.

The 17-year-old Blake, the 2019 Class Two 1500m champion, now has a total 12 CSEC subjects accumulated over three years, while running his rivals ragged in both the 800m and 1500m on the track.

Blake, as a 15 year-old while in third form, passed human social biology where he placed ninth overall in the Caribbean.

Then in fourth form, he brushed aside mathematics and social studies and this year he mastered with distinction add maths, English language, chemistry, physics, biology, geography, Spanish, economics, and information technology.

When quizzed by the Jamaica Observer how he is able to balance academics with athletics, Blake was philosophical in responding to the frequently asked question.

“How do you ask a newborn child how do they walk or why do they learn to speak? I guess it’s instinctive. I always try to do my best at whatever I do,” he noted.

“I am no good at football, but if I put my mind to it, I would. I think there has to be that little bit of interest that people need to develop to get to where they want to be. [For me] I don’t know how I do it, but it’s not a big deal because I have been doing it for the last five years or so,” Blake added.

With so many subjects under his belt, Blake is torn between career choices, just as much as he is with deciding whether the 800m or the 1500m is his better event.

“That is [future career] also something I need to start thinking seriously about. I have a genuine interest in the medical field and I was also looking something like a lawyer or a journalist,” he told the Observer.

“[On the track], I tend to like the 800m because it is shorter, but coach thinks the 1500m is my better event. But I don’t want to throw away the 800m,” said Blake.

The coach Blake was referring to is Duane Johnson, the man responsible for the middle and long-distance runners at JC.

“I never had anyone as dedicated as he is and he never ever miss a training and he does so well in school. That’s just the type of person he is,” Coach Johnson said of his charge.

Blake, who has 1:52.00 personal best for 800m and 3:55.63 for the 1500m, is the fore-runner in middle-distance races for his age group and only a brave punter would bet against him winning both at Champs next year.

But he will have his hand full containing the Henry twins — Gianni and Giouvanni of Kingston College — but his coach see no problem.

After dominating throughout the year, Blake was surprisingly beaten by Giovanni, who clocked 1:52.10. Blake was second in 1:52.31 and was said to he nursing an injury at the time.

Blake had dispatched the twins in the 1500m the night before, clocking a personal best of 3:55.63 and was just outside the record of 3:55.38 held by the outstanding Kevroy Venson of Calabar.

“The night before he had the 1500m final and I think the energy and effort that he put out to get the record may have taxed him a bit, and then coming into that 800m final, he actually had developed a strain on his quad,” Johnson explained.

“So I told him going into the final to just do his best. It [injury] became an issue and he kind of tied up on the last lap.But not to take anything away from the Henry brothers, they are very good competitors and they are his main rivals, and in his mind, he knew he had to bring his best, so he tried and it never worked out,” Johnson added.

But things are looking up this season and Blake said his training is going well as he is feeling healthier than ever and believes he can lower his personal best in both events in 2021.

“I am definitely going for it [record]. I wanted to come back like when I just started and and see how I matriculate without pressure. Being a gold medallist at Champs sometimes weighs down on athletes,” he explained.

“Training has been well and I am doing better than I had expected coming off an injury, [and] I hope it stays this way and I hope it only gets better,” Blake noted.