Sprint hurdler Alexis James joins Racers
Outstanding Petersfield High sprint hurdler Alexis James has joined the professional ranks for the upcoming season at Racers Track Club.
Machel Woolery, the head coach of Petersfield, told the Jamaica Observer that the 19-year-old James had received a number of offers from overseas universities, but the decision was made that it was best for her to remain in Jamaica to train and attend school.
“It is a stepping stone in her career, entering the professional ranks, and it is a process, because when you move to the next stage, it is going to take some time for you to develop and so there is no rush with her,” he said.
“She has years ahead of her because there are no expectations to win gold at the Olympics next year,” said Woolery, who is also a member of the Glen Mills-led coaching staff at Racers Track Club.
“She is just going to develop her craft and her skills going forward because it takes a while to get to the world stage, and being a top junior doesn’t necessarily transition into top senior immediately,” he stated.
James was a silver medallist in the 100m hurdles at last year’s World Under-20 Championships, and she was also a member of the gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team that broke the World Under-20 record.
The versatile athlete, who is this year’s Western Championships winner in the girls’ 100m and 100m hurdles events, won gold at the Carifta Games in the 100m hurdles in a championships record of 13.06 seconds.
James currently has a personal best time of 11.44 in the 100m and 12.87 in the 100m hurdles.
The talented athlete has battled a series of injuries in 2022 and Woolery pointed out that she is going to need time to settle in her new surroundings and adjust to the professional level.
“As with any young talent, the ceiling is always very high, but what I don’t want to do is to put any pressure on her because we don’t place that amount of pressure on the ones who go abroad.
“There is no pressure on her and there are no expectations on her, other than we want her to stay healthy and work assiduously on where she wants to go,” Woolery noted.
