In an exclusive interview with Sportsmax.TV, University of Arkansas Head Coach Chris Johnson revealed that Jamaican long sprinter Nikisha Pryce, the 2024 NCAA champion, has not yet peaked this season, despite her outstanding performance at the NCAA National Outdoor Championships.
Pryce, 23, clocked a lifetime best of 48.89 seconds on Saturday, setting the fastest time ever run by a Jamaican woman and briefly holding the world lead before Sydney McLaughlin's 48.75 at the New York Grand Prix on Sunday.
Pryce's 2024 season has been nothing short of spectacular. Entering the year with a personal best of 50.21, she managed to run four lifetime bests—50.13, 49.72, 49.32, and finally 48.89—culminating in a historic performance at the NCAA Championships. However, Johnson believes Pryce's best is yet to come.
"Well, obviously she hasn't peaked yet. I mean, she's still training. She's still training hard right now, so she'll be ready to go," Johnson said. "We plan for this. Keep ahead to keep it motivated. She's run fast. We didn't say, 'Oh, we're gonna just try to peak at NCAA.' She ran fast, that's impressive, but no one wants to sneeze on 48, but I just think that she has more in the tank."
Johnson outlined a strategic plan to prepare Pryce for the upcoming Jamaica National Championships later this month and ultimately, the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
"First of all, we're doing some active recovery stuff for the next three or four days, and then we'll start to ease back into training just to be able to let her body recover mentally and physically and emotionally. We've got to make sure that we take good care of her and have her go when the time comes," Johnson explained.
Pryce's immediate focus is on the Jamaican trials, which she must navigate successfully to secure her spot for Paris. Johnson stressed the importance of not taking anything for granted.
"She's going to do the trials, obviously. We don't have any plans for the circuit just yet. I'm sure we'll try to get something before Paris, maybe one race before Paris, but right now, it's really just retooling her, getting her ready, getting her refocused. Obviously, we take the trials very seriously, so we got to take care of that business," he said.
"We don't want to assume anything as pertains to that. And then after that, we'll prepare for the road, maybe one race before the Paris games," he concluded.
As she continues to train and refine her skills, all eyes will be on Pryce to see just how far she can push the boundaries of her potential.