JAMAICA’S NCAA women’s sprint hurdle champion Ackera Nugent says she is not competing to live up to the expectations of others but rather to showcase the best of her ability and try to accomplish the goals set out for her by her coach.

Nugent, who ran a personal best 12.43 seconds at the South-Eastern Conference (SEC) outdoor championships in mid-May, fourth fastest ever by a Jamaican, is seen by some as the favourite to win the event at this weekend’s Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) national championships at the National Stadium.

With the absence of national record holder Britney Anderson, who is out with an injury, Nugent is expected by some to carry Jamaica’s hopes for a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August — but she says she won’t be pressured by expectations.

“For me, I don’t live up to the expectations of what people have for me,” she said last week on a Zoom interview set up by the Sports Information Department of the University of Arkansas, where she just completed her junior year.

“At the end of the day they [fans] don’t know what I am going through as an athlete, the whole background plan that me and my coach have, and expectations from each other. I can only live up to my own expectations and, as I always say, to finish healthy,” the former World Athletics and two-time NCAA Indoor champion said.

The 110m hurdles event is expected to be one of the best and most competitive at the four-day championships. In addition to Nugent, former World Champion Danielle Williams; Olympic Games bronze medallist Megan Tapper; World Under-20 champion Kerrica Hill; Demisha Roswell and Amoi Brown — all of whom have run under 12.85 seconds this season — will be lining up for a place on the Jamaican team.

Nugent missed last year’s championships due to injury and said she was delighted to be back, “Ah, it’s a really, really good feeling to see that I’ve trusted the process and my journey,” she said, “and that I didn’t give up because it’s an injury. And to see like how far I’ve come when everybody counted me out, it’s just really great to see that, not only making my coaches proud but also making the goals that I have for myself come true, so it’s a really good feeling.”

Nugent does not lack for confidence, however, and said, “The most important thing for me is that I know that I’m ready. I have one of the best coaches there is and the most important thing for me is to follow the instruction that he gives me and also finish the hurdles healthy,” she said, “I think for me, I’m not afraid to compete. I don’t care what you have accomplished, what you have done. I know how good I am, and I have to remain confident in myself and just go out there to compete to the best of my ability.”

Nugent’s win in the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, was a massive confidence boost for her, after she was beaten into second place at the SEC Championships.

The women’s sprint hurdles final was one of the marquee events of the championships, with the likes of Alia Armstrong of Louisiana State and Masai Russell of the University of Kentucky.

Russell had run 12.36 seconds in April and Armstrong had clocked 12.40 seconds six weeks later.

Nugent said: “What I would have known since I’ve been hurdling, it just takes — no matter what lane you are in, no matter who you are up against — it just takes the person who’s more more focused on their lane [to win], and I think going down that track I was like: ‘They will [not] beat me today. I’m the best in the field and I’m going to prove that I am the best in the field.’ “

If additional motivation was needed, Nugent said she felt she was overlooked by the pundits.

“I feel for me, going into the event as the least favourite to win was a little motivation…because I was like, ‘I have accomplished so much.’ I was like, ‘I am better than these ladies.’ And because I know, and because coach always tells me that it’s good to have somebody behind you, and I’m like, ‘I have people that are counting on me,’ and [so] it was just me against these hurdles.

“I just stayed focused on my lane and everything, and did everything that my coach told me before I went into the race, and follow the instructions that were a good thing to do,” she said.