LAMARA Distin, who last weekend improved her Jamaican national indoor high jump record, is confident she will get over the elusive 2.00-m mark soon, but says she will be patient and won’t try to rush the process.

Jamaica’s best-ever female high jumper — who won the gold medal at last year’s Commonwealth Games to cap off a wildly successful year when she won both indoor and outdoor titles at the South-eastern Conference and the NCAA Division One — cleared 1.97m to win at the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson University.

Distin beat the 1.94m mark she set last month at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic held at the Albuquerque Convention Centre.

“I am very confident that I will hit 2.00m,” she told the Jamaica Observer this week.

“There are just certain areas that need to be fixed that my coach and I are working on. I’m coming from a new approach this year, and while I’m not quite at ease with it yet I’m making it work. But, I have faith in God’s plan and timing. Nothing happens before it’s time,” she added

The Texas A&M student-athlete who is in a threeway tie for fifth in the world and who equalled her outdoor personal best of 1.97m, says while she is confident in her abilities she also believes in a higher power.

“It’s all God’s plan, I have no control over it. I will continue to believe in Him and keep pushing myself to achieve higher standards. It will come, it’s just time,” she said, “Also, I’m being more patient with myself and having more confidence because of how well I started off my season. I will control what I can control and everything else will fall into place.”

Distin has picked up where she left off last season when she got past the first round at the World Athletics World Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, and said :“It’s undoubtedly the targets I set for myself. I am chasing what I desired and [I’m] working towards that,” she said, “As a result of that it keeps me more motivated than ever. Since I experienced it last year when I competed at the greatest level and attended the Commonwealth Games and World Championships, it motivates me to work even harder this year.”

Her good start, she says, has set her up for better things to come later in the year — but she is not limiting herself with any numbers.

“Before the season started my goal was to open up with 1.90m or higher, which I did at the Razorback invitational. With how my indoor season has been going currently I definitely think there’s is more in store to go higher, especially jumping 1.97m indoors. That goes to show what I can definitely do going forward,” she ended.