Cameron gave 'Gonz' that special attention

How do you transform one of the most promising, yet troubled athletes into a world beater? Easy, give them the attention and care that they require to perform at their optimum levels.

Jermaine Gonzales has been one of the most promising athletes to come out of Jamaica's highly celebrated high school athletics programme over the past few years, carving out bronze-medal performances at the 2001 World Youth Championships and the World Junior Championships a year later, before suffering a string of injuries in 2003 and 2005.

In 2006, the former Tacius Golding star won another bronze medal, this time at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, in a then personal best (PB) time of 45.16 seconds. He improved his PB to 44.79 before breaking Roxbert Martin's national record, posting a new mark of 44.40 seconds in 2010.

For most, last year was the real breakthrough year for the 26-year-old and for noted coach, former Olympian and the first-ever 400m champion at the IAAF World Championships, Bert Cameron, it was just and timely reward for a lot of hard work.

Natural talent

"Him (Gonzales) have it," said Cameron in local parlance. "It's (talent) there, he just wanted someone to be there for him. He is not someone who just wants to be out on the track just running up and down, he requires someone beside him who really cares and believe in him, and I was able to be that person."

Cameron, who started coaching 'Gonz' (as he is called by his close friends) in 2009, immedi-ately started working on the athlete's running style and moved to rebuild his confidence.

"We realised from the outset that he did not push out of the blocks in his first 100m, so we started to work on the first 50m and the momentum that pushes him from the start takes him around that bend, we saw the results straight away and I can tell you that he does not like to see people in front of him," Cameron laughed, shortly after watching his charge walk away with the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association male athlete of the year award at a function in Kingston yesterday.

Special attention needed

"You cannot have great athletes out there just running up and down and treat them like you treat everyone else," Cameron added. "They require special attention and I begged him, I told him I would even take up his spikes and walk with him as long as he puts in the effort and do what he must to be successful."

And it worked; the two have formed a formidable team within the Racers Track team camp. Gonzales posted two of the five fastest times recorded over the distance last season, and up to the middle of August was the holder of the fastest time of the year.

There is, however, still a lot of work left to be done, and coach Cameron is already pulling the strings in anticipation of yet another big season for his protégé.

"My goal is to see him reach the top, we are not quite there yet but maybe this year is the year. The World Championships is coming up and I see it happening more than you can ever imagine," said Cameron. "I see him winning this World Championship gold medal and we are going to get there step by step."

And what does Gonzales think about all this?

"I'm not surprised with the season I had, I'm a person that believes in myself. He (Cameron) has done so much for me personally and I am grateful," Gonzales shared.

- A.L.