In-form Jamaican quarter-miler Akeem Bloomfield says he is looking forward to putting on a quality performance when he lines up in the men's 400 metres at the Racers Grand Prix inside the National Stadium today.
Bloomfield, who has been having a good season, will enter today's race with a season's best 45.58 seconds. He is down to face the likes of world record holder Wayde van Neikerk from South Africa, Jamaica national record holder Rusheen McDonald, and the American pair of Noah Williams and Trevor Stewart.
Former national 400m champion Demish Gaye and the improving Karayme Bartley round out the field.
Bloomfield told the Jamaica Observer that he has been in good form this year and is looking forward to producing an excellent showing for the home fans.
"First thing first, I love my country, I love my people, and I think that any opportunity that I get to compete and put on a show for them is always a blessing, so I am really looking forward to that," said Bloomfield.
"I don't really like to make any predictions on times, but what I can say is that I am looking to give a solid performance and see where I am in my season.
"I opened my season with 45.58 almost two months ago, and so I have been training well and it is just to see where I am right now," he added.
The 25-year-old Bloomfield, who has been bothered by injuries over the past four seasons, failed to get by the first round of this year's 200m at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, after finishing 26th overall in a season's best 20.56.
The former Kingston College athlete has a personal best 43.93, which he achieved in 2018.
However, he has failed to break the 45-m barrier since 2019 after running the second fastest time of 44.40 in his career in 2019.
However, Bloomfield pointed out that he and his coach have been working to ensure that he returns to his best this year and also to maintain a level of consistency throughout the season.
"My Coach Sanjay Ayre and I have been putting in a lot of quality training sessions, especially in these past couple of weeks. There have been some minor setbacks, but we have been able to work through them, and so I am just really looking forward to giving a good performance on Saturday," he said.
"The mindset this year is quality performances and developing some form of consistency. Me and my coach have been putting in a lot of work so this meet will help us to see where we are at this season," Bloomfield underscored.
Bloomfield is the training partner, at the Chase Athletics club, of national quarter-miler Javon Francis who won silver medals in the 4x400m and 4x400m mixed relay at the 2019 World Championships for Jamaica.
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