Primary Champs standout Teixera Johnson feted by Beaches
Beaches Ocho Rios recently treated young Teixera Johnson to a day filled with fun and excitement in recognition of her feat as the new 300 meters record holder among primary school athletes.
Johnson, a grade five student at Exchange All-Age School in St Ann, clocked a new record of 43.43 seconds in winning the girls’ Class Two 300m event at the Institute of Sports National Primary Championships recently.
As the saying goes, to the victor belongs the spoils, as Johnson reaped the fruits of her hard work courtesy of a day pass for four at the luxury-included Beaches Ocho Rios.
This was among the many recognition and praises heaped on Johnson by her school in celebrating her remarkable achievement.
For Johnson, it was well received.
“This is the first my mom and I are visiting any hotel. We are extremely happy to be here at Beaches with my two coaches. We are having such a wonderful time with so many things to do and not enough time to do everything.” a beaming Johnson said.
“Bar-B-Que Park, Pirate Island Waterpark with slides, and X-Box room alone can finish the day and I have not gone to the beach to do any watersports or other restaurants or participate in any of the fun activities that are organised.
“I am overwhelmed and very thankful to my principal, Mr Ricardo Moncrieff, and to Beaches Ocho Rios for making this day so special and memorable. This is a great motivation, I will continue to stay focused, work hard, and I hope to be back soon,” she added.
Her coach, Veron Peterkin, who was a part of the day of frolicking believes it was a day well deserved.
This as he refelcted on and spoke proudly of Johnson’s hard work and commitment in training.
“It’s not difficult to train her, in fact, it is quite easy. This is because she is disciplined. When you find an athlete that listens, training becomes a bit easier because training develops faster.
“Even if we have concerns, for example, she loves to run 100 per cent of her effort, but during a competition, you can’t do that because you have to go through the rounds. The fact that she trusts me enough to listen and follow my instructions to run at 80 per cent, which would mean that she would be conserving for the semi-final and final, that’s amazing,” Peterkin shared.
The coach also recalled how he first discovered that Johnson was a potential track star in the making.
“I’ve been her physical education teacher since grade one and recall the first time I saw how she ran out the lane like a plane. I quickly called my colleague teacher to watch and we agreed she is special and very good as she has the natural ability to run. I think her discipline is even more special than the ability to run,” Peterkin said.
“That’s the reason why she is getting so many trophies, awards, and medals because she has the perfect mixture…good discipline and talent. We have been nurturing her and will continue to do so and provide her with a solid foundation to build on…gradually her stardom is coming to fruition,” he noted.