Track Coach Omar Hawse believes the Legacy Athletics is beginning its journey as a track club with one of the best group of athletes any club in Jamaica has ever started with.
Hawse, who has been coaching for more than 15 years, made the pronouncement at the launch of Jamaica’s newest track club earlier today.
Legacy was formed by Calabar High School with its leaders being part of the school’s hierarchy. Karl B Johnson, board chairman at Calabar is the club’s chairman while Principal Albert Corcho is a director.
The club boasts the likes of 2011 World Championship silver medalist Jura Levy, Deuce Carter, and Roneisha McGregor as well as a cadre of talented athletes on the rise including Dejour Russell, Crystal Morrison, Michael Bentley, Tyreke Wilson, Anthony Carpenter, Amoi Brown and Michael O’Hara.
“Our organization has been blessed with a group of athletes that – when I did my research – not even the three leading clubs in Jamaica, has got a chance to start with such a great group of athletes,” Hawse said.
“We are indeed blessed at Legacy.”
Hawse said he and the other coaches at the club, Ynick Morrison, Nicholas Neufville and Craig Sewell, are committed to helping each of these athletes achieve their maximum potential.
“As coaches, we continue to improve on our craft and give each and every athlete the attention needed to be at their best and to attain their best in representing their country, family and friends,” he said.
“We are doing our best to help them realize their dreams by paying keen attention to each and every aspect of their physical, emotional and psychological development.”
Legacy also intends to do more; much more, according to its President and CEO Andrea Hardware, who announced that Legacy will also offer athlete representation as well as personal professional development.
“Permit me to say two sentences about our personal development portfolio. Included in the portfolio are interventions to address the formal education of all of our clients through scholarships,” she said.
“The development of their mental fortitude, tools to help them make better choices about their nutrition and lifestyle as sportsmen and women and building their individual brands for sustainability. Our intention is to be very deliberate in helping our clients achieve success and to begin to think beyond their playing days.
“In fact, research has revealed that people like Usain Bolt and Michael Jordan are making more money now than they were while they were playing.”
The club’s website says Legacy Athletics believes that Jamaica has too rich a sporting heritage to squander and aims to be a conduit and to provide a framework for young women and men bestowed with special athletic talent to attain their highest potential.
“In so doing we will be playing our part in minimizing the number of young persons who fall through the cracks of our traditional educational and socio-economic systems,” it said.
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Christania Williams and Coach Unfried target return to personal best ahead of Jamaica National Championships
Christania Williams, the talented Jamaican sprinter and 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medalist, is setting her sights on reclaiming her peak form as she gears up for the Jamaica National Championships in June, with her eyes firmly set on securing a spot at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
Since her impressive performance as part of Jamaica's silver-medal-winning 4x100m relay team at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Williams, now 29, has faced setbacks due to injuries and other undisclosed health concerns. However, under the guidance of her coach, Philipp Unfried, she is focused and determined to return to her personal best time of 10.96 seconds.
Unfried outlined their strategy for the upcoming season, emphasizing Williams' goal of nearing or even surpassing her personal best. "The plan for 2024 is to get close to where she was, close to her PB or maybe around PB," stated Unfried. "She is going to do some more races now in preparation for trials and training went really well so far."
At the Velocity Fest 15 on Saturday meeting held at the Ashenheim Stadium in Jamaica, Williams demonstrated her potential by clocking a time of 11.76 seconds into a headwind in her qualifying heat, securing second place behind Remona Burchell, who won the heat in 11.52 seconds. Despite challenging conditions with winds affecting her heat, Williams progressed to the B final.
In the B final, Williams improved her performance, achieving a season's best time of 11.56 seconds. Although she finished second in the final, Williams' progress is indicative of her determination and gradual return to top form.
"Mentally, I am ready," expressed Williams. "The aim right now is to get back to my personal best. There is no pressure. Right now the focus is on me, just taking it one step at a time."
Williams acknowledged the mental fortitude required to overcome setbacks and stay focused on her goals. "It's about going into the race and doing exactly what I do in training," she affirmed. "I know I have a lot of potential, I still believe there is more in there and I still haven’t reached my full potential."
Despite the obstacles she has faced, Williams remains resolute in her determination to move forward. "With all that has happened in the past, I am just trying to put that behind and move forward," she explained. "I do have days when that really gets to me mentally but it’s life. If something happens, you don’t use that to keep yourself down."
As Williams continues her journey towards peak performance, supported by the unwavering guidance of Coach Unfried, the upcoming Jamaica National Championships will serve as a crucial stepping stone towards her ultimate goal of representing Jamaica at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Asafa Powell's absence cost Jamaica a faster 4x100m world record in 2012, suggests Gatlin
In a recent episode of the Ready, Set, Go podcast, American sprint legend Justin Gatlin delved into the hypotheticals of Jamaica's historic 4x100m relay run at the London 2012 Olympics, suggesting that the world record of 36.84 seconds could have been even faster had former world record holder Asafa Powell been part of the lineup.
Powell, renowned for his blistering speed having held the 100m world record at 9.77 and 9.74s, missed out on the opportunity to join the likes of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt in that record-breaking relay team due to a groin injury sustained during the final of the 100m.
Gatlin, reflecting on the potential of the Jamaican squad, speculated that adding Powell to the mix could have propelled them to an astonishing 36.5-second mark.
"Adding Asafa Powell to that already formidable lineup of Bolt, Blake, Carter, and Frater could have pushed the team to an even faster time," Gatlin remarked on his podcast. Powell's absence, while the team still delivered Olympic gold, left room for speculation on just how much quicker they could have been.
Gatlin, a seasoned sprinter himself, understands the unique pressure and responsibility that comes with relay events. "There is a difference between being an individual runner at the Olympics or world championships and being part of a relay team," he explained. "If you falter as an individual, it's on you; but in a relay, it's on the country's back."
Reflecting on the challenges of breaking a world record in relay events, Gatlin emphasized the need for everything to align perfectly. "36.8 is a gigantic order. 37 low is a tall order," he admitted. "Everyone needs to be in peak condition and ready to run."
Looking ahead to the future, Gatlin also weighed in on Team USA's chances of breaking the 12-year-long Jamaican 4x100m relay world record in 2024. "It's going to take a near-perfect performance from a team firing on all cylinders to surpass what Jamaica achieved in 2012," Gatlin predicted.
Texas A&M’s Farquharson establishes new meet record to win 800m at Alumni Muster
Jamaican Texas A&M junior Kimar Farquharson continued his winning ways in the 800m this season with victory at the Alumni Muster held in College Station, Texas on Saturday.
The former Calabar High star was in dominant form, winning the event in 1:47.26, a new meet record.
More than two seconds behind Farquharson in second was teammate Caden Norris (1:49.62) while Tracksmith’s Luca Chatham was third in 1:50.71.
This was Farquharson’s second 800m win of the season as he ran 1:46.69 to beat countrymen Navasky Anderson and Tarees Rhoden to victory at the Tom Jones Memorial in Florida on April 13.
Interestingly, the 22-year-old has also established a new personal best in the 400m this season with 45.70 at the Battle of the Bayou in Baton Rouge on March 30.
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