Jumper Bryan aims to go higher
Former national junior high jumper Christoff Bryan says this could be the year that he finally establishes himself among the event’s top competitors in the world.
Bryan, who has been hampered by injuries throughout his career, is being conditioned by respected Coach Stephen Francis at the MVP Track club.
He said he has been injury-free this season and he has now set his sights on achieving the World Championships qualifying mark of 2.32 metres.
“[The] plan is just to get better at each meet because this is my first full season back and so I am just trying to be patient and just try to keep improving as much as I can.
“You are always going to have niggles because there are no athletes that go through a season without a little niggle, but in terms of major injury, [I] have been able to train consistently this season and I am grateful for that,” he said.
Bryan, who is a bronze medallist at the 2013 World Youth Championships and a fourth-place finisher at the 2014 World Junior Championships, currently has a personal best mark of 2.25m.
He leapt to 2.24 metres in the men’s high jump at the Gibson McCook Relays at the National Stadium on Saturday.
He pointed out that he was pleased with his performance because he is still working on a number of technical things in training. Bryan also said that he is taking a much smarter approach to his season because he has a very experienced coaching staff at the MVP.
“Right now we are still doing the short approach in training and to jump 2.24 metres short is decent, and so we just keep getting better from here,” Bryan said.
“I have learned a lot over the past years and I learned that I need to listen to my body more, and when to say no. When I was younger, I would just go out and compete and it didn’t matter if I had an injury or not, but now I have a circle around me that advises me when to push it or not,” he said.
The 26-year-old Bryan, who is a former Wolmer’s Boys’ high jump standout, stated that he is also a lot more mentally and physically focused this season than he has ever been before
“The training staff at the MVP track club [are] experienced and they know what they are doing, so that is who I listen to and so I am in a good space, and so I should be good for later down in the season,” he said.
— Robert Bailey
