World Outdoor Championships women’s 100m bronze medallist Kelly-Ann Baptiste is aiming at some fast times in 2013.Since the Lance Brauman-coached sprint lass lowered her national record to 10.94 in 2009, Baptiste has been ten-point range every year since. The next year she lowered her national mark to 10.84 (25th on the all-time list) and came within 0.02 seconds of equaling it when she sped to 10.86 in Jamaica in May, this year.
The former Louisiana State University sprinter has been in the sub-eleven domain on five occasions both in 2011 and 2012 to raise her career total to 14. The London Olympic sixth place finisher believes with the current form of the world’s top female sprinters 10.7/10.8 will be time required to get a medal at major meets.
Baptiste’s expectation is quite reasonable given that ten women ran faster than 11 seconds in 2012 of which six ran under 10.90 seconds. “Everybody is running well now. 10.7(5) won the last Olympics and if you are not running that or faster you can’t stand a chance of winning or getting a medal because 10.81 got the bronze. So you pretty much have to be in the 10.7/10.8 range to try to get a medal,” said Baptiste. The Plymouth speedster did not want to reveal the time she has set for herself, but said that it was faster than 10.8.
Baptiste was speaking on Tobago Channel Five’s Rise and Shine Morning show recently, during a brief trip to Tobago. The Bethesda Government/Signal Hill Secondary graduate said she believed that to achieve such a time requires more that talent.
“You have to have a coach and a team around you that is very specific in managing minor details. Your technique becomes extremely important, and also becoming as strong as you can. It’s not
just running a race; it gets way more technical.”
The 25-year-old also said that though she made it to the finals at the London Olympics becoming the first local woman to do so, she was disappointed at not getting amongst the medals.
“I had lots to goals I wanted to accomplish, but was not able to. It took me a while to get over (not getting a medal). Even now it is hard to be satisfied with what I did but at the same time I have to put things into perspective; it was my first Olympic finals and I can’t look at someone else’s career and try to based mine on it.”
She, however, was grateful for the progress she has made in the sport: “I have to realise that I am an individual and people’s expectations of me based on someone else may not be the same for me. It may take me another four years, eight years to accomplish what I need to accomplish.
“As I reflect, I am realising that there has been improvement every year. The last Olympics (in Beijing, China in 2008) I did not even make the semi-finals. When I think of that, I realise I have made huge strides in the event; I have to be thankful.”
By Clayton Clarke
Source: www.guardian.co.tt