Jarrett
National long jump champion Jovanee Jarrett has one thing on her mind as she gets ready to compete at next week's IAAF World Championships in Berlin.
The former St Jago High athlete, speaking from her training site in Moscow, wants to do as well as or better than Chelsea Hammond's fourth-place finish at last year's Beijing Olympics.
"I will be using Chelsea's performance at last year's Olympic Games as a form of motivation," she said. Jarrett, who won the event at the National Championships with a personal best and the automatic 'A' standard of 6.75 metres, will be competing at her first major senior championships.
High hopes
Jamaica has never won a medal in this event at a major championship and Jarrett thinks she has the potential to be there among the medallists. She is hoping that she can show the same improvement Hammond showed in Beijing. Hammond only had a 'B' standard last year before she competed in Beijing but showed tremendous improvement to place fourth with a mark of 6.79 metres.
Jarrett knows that it is going to take something special to be among the finalists as seven athletes heading to Berlin have all jumped over 6.90 metres.
"My first objective is to get into the final 12 and then I will take it from there," she said.
At the recent Stockholm Grand Prix meet Jarrett finished sixth with 6.59 metres but is not perturbed by this placing.
Good opportunity
"It was a good opportunity for me to compete against most of the athletes whom I will be competing with in Berlin and with less than two weeks to go I am very optimistic because my coach is now at the training camp and he will be working hard to help me to improve on some of the technical aspects of my jump so that I can put on a good show for my country," she stated.
When Hammond was selected to travel to Beijing last year, there were many who thought that it was not a good decision but she proved all wrong and just missed out on a medal. This is an event in which an athlete needs a little luck and one big jump could make all the difference. Jarrett will be hoping that she can produce something special for a history-making performance in Berlin.