SFP ‘role model’ for World U20 favourite Nugent

FORMER EXCELSIOR High School female hurdles stand-out, Ackera Nugent, shared some insight into her decision to chart her career in the fast lane of track and field.

Nugent, one of five athletes who spoke at a press conference on the eve of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya, admitted that her role model in the sport is no other than speedball Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

“I look up to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as she is a people person, as she is always encouraging the younger athletes,” Nugent responded, when asked who is her idol in Jamaican track and field.

“I just love how she does things on and off the track,” she stated.

Fraser-Pryce is a multiple Olympic and World Championships medallist, who added a sprint relay gold medal and silver in the 100 metres at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which ended in Japan less than a fortnight ago. She is the second-fastest Jamaican female to have ever run the 100 metres, having clocked 10.63 seconds at the National Senior Athletic Championships recently.

Olympic sprint double champion Elaine Thompson-Herah is the fastest Jamaican female sprinter, recording 10.61 seconds to establish an Olympic record on the way to a gold-medal finish in Tokyo.

Like the exemplary senior Jamaican sprinters, Nugent is one of the athletes who will be in the spotlight in Nairobi at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships and she will be looking to make her mark.

Even though she is ranked number two on the World Under-20 list with 11.09, Nelson, however, will not be taking on the 100 metres in Nairobi.

Instead, she will be competing in her pet event, the 100 metres hurdles, where she is ranked number one in her age group with 12.76 seconds.

CHALLENGING SEASON

Her times reflect an improvement in a successful season in her first year at Baylor University in the United States, which she admitted was challenging.

“It was really rough in my first year at Baylor, as mixing academics with training was a bit difficult. But with a great medical and coaching staff, I was able to make the necessary adjustments and succeeded,” said Nugent, the National Collegiate Athletics Association Indoor 60 metres hurdles champion.

She is seeking a medal upgrade for Jamaica in the event as three years ago in Tampere, Finland, Britany Anderson lost out by inches to get the gold medal in the World U20 Championships 100-metre hurdles after the United States’ Tia Jones was given the gold medal, which the judges took a long time to decide.

Not to be outdone, Anderson won the gold medal in the girl’s 100 metres hurdles at the 2017 World Athletics Under-18 Championships at this same venue.

Nugent, who starts competition in the event on Friday (2:15 a.m. Jamaica time), will be using some of that ‘Shelly’ motivation to fuel her goal and maintain Jamaica’s high standards in the event at recent global age-group championships.