On the athletic track, timing is everything. Not just how fast you run; but when you run it. One of the revelations of the 2012 track and field season was Jason Young. He ended the season as the sixth fastest man in the world over 200 metres, having run 19.86 seconds to win in Lucerne (Switzerland) on the 16th July. If he had run a similar time two and a half weeks earlier at the Jamaica National Championships, he would have been the third man on the Jamaican team to contest this event at the London Olympics. Instead, after running 20.42 in the semi-finals, he could only manage 20.71 in the finals to finish in seventh place. The third place was taken by his club-mate Warren Weir in 20.03 (19.99 in the semis) who, in so doing, booked his spot on the team and opened the way to winning the bronze medal in a personal best time of 19.84.
In a recent interview a few days after restarting his training at the UWI Mona Bowl field, Young expressed his elation at the impressive personal best time he was able to run in his first year on the European circuit. However, his joy was diluted by the disappointment of not making the Olympic team. So, this time around, he promises to put everything in place to make sure he peaks for the National Championships so that the team doesn’t leave him behind again. That is the first milestone on the journey to the destination he has mapped out for himself this season: a medal at the World Championships.
