Time to shine again – Wilson

DOHA, Qatar:

Head coach of Jamaica’s team at the 2019 World Championships, Maurice Wilson, says while he understands the generally low expectations around the team, he forecasts strong performances from the country’s athletes in Doha.

Wilson, who has served and led coaching panels throughout the most successful period of Jamaican athletics, believes that after the country’s under-par showing two years ago, the athletes are again ready to impress on the biggest stages.

“I was always optimistic from the beginning based on watching the trends over the last two championships, that this would be a year in which all our supporters and athletes will feel encouraged with the performances,” Wilson said after last night’s training session at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium at the Qatar Sports Club.

“We, as the coaches and the management, this is our responsibility to make sure that we rebuild the confidence. We have to also make the athletes feel special and be there to support them,” Wilson continued. “With that being said, I am extremely happy with the level of camaraderie that I have seen over the last few days and I think that we are on the right trajectory in terms of getting back to where we used to be.”

Jamaica ended the last instalment of the World Championships – the 2017 edition in London – with a disappointing four medals, consisting of one gold and three bronze.

It was the country’s lowest medal tally at the World Championships since the 1987 event in Rome, when it also won four medals, one more than it did at the previous championships in Helsinki in 1983.

“You have to put everything in perspective,” Wilson reasoned. “We are talking about a nation that for 12 years has been used to a particular set of performances, and over the past two or so years, they have not been seeing that, so their expectations are guarded, if I should say.”

However, Wilson, the acting principal at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport and head coach of Sprintec Track Club, is pleased with the progress made by the athletes since their arrival in Doha and is expecting them to shine at the September 27-October 6 championships.

“So far, the acclimatisation has gone well,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I must quickly say that coming to Doha to camp, I think was a very good decision. I think the athletes, those who came in early, have adapted well, and so I am expecting that we should see that adaptation in the performances.

“We may not necessarily get the medals that we love, whether in terms of colour or event, but what you would have observed is a broad spread of events that we are participating in and the opportunity is there for medal. We are developing into an all-round track and field nation,” Wilson added.

Jamaica’s 13 medals at the 2009 championships in Berlin, Germany, is the country’s best ever medal tally at the IAAF World Championships.

andre.lowe@gleanerjm.com