‘Keeping the legacy alive’
Former Jamaica quarter-milers in agreement with 4x400m push for Paris Games
With the change of the men’s 400m schedule at the National Senior Athletic Championships to accommodate the push to qualify for the 4x400m at the Paris Olympics, two of Jamaica’s top quarter-milers, Bertland Cameron and Brandon Simpson, believe the men participating need to go above and beyond to ensure the country’s legacy at the summer games continues.
Jamaica will have one final attempt to qualify for the relay event at the Olympics in a special race on Sunday’s final day of the Championships. Jamaica’s men will need to run faster than Zambia’s 2:59:12 to book their spot. They missed out on qualification at the World Relays in May as well as the New Life Invitational earlier this month.
The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) shifted the traditional schedule in hopes of optimising the country’s chances of qualifying. The top 16 ranked athletes heading into the trials will automatically qualify for the semi-finals scheduled for Thursday evening with the remaining athletes to be chosen from the preliminary round at 10:00 am. The final is to take place on Friday night with Saturday being used as a recovery day in preparation for the 4x400m event on Sunday night.
World champion and Olympic medallist Cameron, who won silver in the 4×400 at the Seoul Games in 1988, applauded the schedule change.
“The 4×400 relay is one of the most important and historic relays for Jamaica. Going back to the years of Herb McKenley and Arthur Wint in 1952. Although we haven’t won [individual] gold since 1952, we always perform and finish in the top four or five in the relays so we should do whatever it takes to qualify ourselves so that the boys can go and perform at the greatest championship of all,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
The 2004 Olympic finalist Simpson, who won three relay medals at the World Championships, also believe it was a necessary change from the JAAA.
“The culture and the tradition of the 4×400 is a major part of track and field. It was one of the things that got me interested in the 400m and I remember watching Gregory Haughton roll over, hold on to the baton and still run an excellent leg. I think it’s an important event for us and one of the most exciting and we do so well at it, so we should have the opportunity to represent at the Olympic Games,” he told the Observer.
Simpson ,whose personal best of 44.64 seconds still ranks in the top 20 Jamaicans of all time, says the men competing should be able to adjust to the new schedule quickly despite the late change.
“Having three rounds of a 400m, you compound the amount of lactic acid that you recover from every single round, so if you can get rid of one of those instances, you have fresher legs and you can compete a lot more at your full capacity. For me, I think it would make me quite happy,” he said.
“I do understand that they would have been preparing for three rounds and all your training have been geared towards the three rounds, so I understand it could be off-putting but most track and field athletes have had to think on their feet and overcome obstacles to even get to this point, so I’m sure they’re quite able to make the adjustment in their mind,” Simpson added.
Cameron, who ranks in the top 10 fastest 400m Jamaicans of all time, is urging the men selected to try to run the qualifying time for the 4×400 to give it their all.
“If we don’t do this now, when you go to the games and just run our event, you’re going to find out that it’s not enough. Put Herb McKenley in your mind, Bert Cameron in your mind, Greg Haughton in your mind, all the great quarter milers in your mind and remember what we did and come together and we’re going to run and try to do the best possible to make it to the Olympics,” Cameron said.
“Let’s go there so that we have a chance to get a medal in the 4×4 because there’s no three teams better than us in the 4×400 when we go to the Olympics so we need to think like that. It can be done, it’s not impossible, it’s not a difficult thing to do, we just have to put our minds together and go out there and do it,” he added.
Simpson says it may be a challenge to go faster than the mark set by the Zambians due to the circumstances but believes they can get the job done.
“I do think it’s a tough mark because one of the reasons why the 4×400 displays fast relay splits is because of the chase of either the team in front or the feeling of being chased so I think it might be difficult to play off. But I think it’s highly possible, one of the best ways to run fast relay times is to be relaxed so that might end up working in their favour,” he said.