Hanson has no regrets with switch to 400m
MONTEGO BAY, St James – Three years ago, the then 16-year-old Antonio Hanson of Herbert Morrison Technical cleared 2.00m in the high jump, and after dominating the County of Cornwall Athletics Association’s Western Championships for years, it was thought his future was in the event.
It would make sense that Hanson proved to be a more than capable jumper, given his older sister Sashane had also represented Herbert Morrison Technical and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi with distinction.
The 2.00m was to be his best in the high jump, as in 2019 Hanson made the switch to the 400m, the event he thought of as his best and one which would most likely suit his talents.
“From a young age I thought that I had the talent for the 400m, but at the time I was also a very good high jumper, so I pursued the high jump,” he told the Jamaica Observer West last weekend after he placed fifth in the Under-20 boys’ 400m at “Trials” in Kingston, pencilling his name into the team for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
“But, the older I got, my coach and I took the decision to go to the 400m, because that was where my talent was.”
Hanson, who was third in the Class 1 boys’ 400m at the 2020 Western Championships for Herbert Morrison, transferred to Excelsior High this year and was sixth in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) boys’ and girls’ championships and part of the 4x400m team that was declared champions after Jamaica College were disqualified.
After running a personal best 46.64 seconds at ISSA boys’ and girls’ championships to be ranked number four among all Jamaican Under-20 and attracting the attention of several US colleges, he declared that he had “no regrets at all” about switching events.
“Moving ahead it’s about maximising the talent and seeing where it takes me,” he stressed, adding that attending college is his next step.
“I will definitely be pursuing further education,” he said, “following my sister, maybe not the same school,” he quipped, adding that he will pursue a degree in business.
