Bradley makes golden switch

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica has been outstanding on the track over the years and has been dominant in the sprints over the past three years. But not all young athletes will be able to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

This is a fact that 13-year-old Central Branch All-Age student, Bradley Milford, has accepted and it has paid dividends for him, as yesterday he captured the first gold medal at the 32nd staging of the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) All-Age and Junior High Athletics Championships, being held over three days at the National Stadium.

Bradley leapt 5.09 metres to finish ahead of his teammate, Carnett Abbott (5.0m), while Jason Terrelonge (4.91m) of John Mills Primary and Junior High accounted for the bronze.

winning switch

The long jump was not Bradley's first love, as he started out competing in the 100m and 400m.

"I do the long jump because I didn't get picked on the 100m and 200m teams, so I told my coach that I would train for the long jump and I did it and I won," Bradley shared.

"This is my fourth year and I did not do so well in the previous years. I made it to finals in the 400m last year but didn't medal and I fell in the 100m," he further shared.

Bradley attributes his triumph mainly to his coach, Tahir Dudley, and is keen on dethroning 16-time defending champions John Mills.

"I feel good, my coach has taught me well," a beaming Bradley expressed. "We now want to beat John Mills."

Dudley had high praises for the young athlete, noting how easily he made the transition.

"He is a very enthusiastic athlete and he is very determined, so he said he wanted to try the event (long jump) and he fitted in perfectly," Dudley stated.

Bradley, who concedes that he has not been doing as well as he would have liked in his academics, will now turn his attention to the 4x400m.

Meanwhile, Carnett, who will also feature in the 100m and 200m sprint events, was content with his silver medal finish in the long jump.

"I am satisfied. We knew that one of us would come first and one would come second," Carnett pointed out. "It was hard to prepare for the meet, but here it was easy as they (other competitors) did not compete with me, only my teammate."