Trackspeed1 athletes originally grounded by the volcanic ash crisis, finally made it to their pre-season training camp in Central Florida last week, and are already looking trim ahead of their fist competition next week.
Coach John Powell was one of the first on a plane following days of suspense waiting to see if the squad could actually travel at all, but was in a confident mood despite a week's worth of training being lost.
"The UK weather was actually quite good during the time we were waiting to travel," he said, "and so the sessions we would have done in Florida were still quite good quality. But there's nothing quite like the Florida climate and the facilities over here to get an athlete on top of their game.
"Speaking from the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, in Orlando, Powell added: "athletes here can focus on optimising their performance 24/7 if they want to, and that is great preparation for summer. This last UK winter has been a nightmare, and training in some decent facilities in brilliant sunshine is about as good as it gets!"
James Ellington warms up for the first track session in Florida at the ESPN track facility.
Trackspeed1 kick off their season next Thursday (May 6th) in the University of Central Florida Twilight Meet, in Orlando. Traditionally a high level meet, the likes of James Ellington and young prospect david Bolarinwa, will be among Powell's protégées looking to impress early on in the summer calendar.
The squad will also be fielding a 4 x 100m relay team to see if they can beat the hugely impressive 40.69 second mark set two years ago at the same meeting - a performance that ranked as one of the fastest by any British domestic team in 2008, let alone a training squad.
The team that year consisted of Wade Bennett-Jackson, Jason Hussain, Phillip Doorgachurn and James Ellington. This year it will be selected from James Ellington, Dwayne Grant, Jason Hussain, David Bolarinwa, Jer O'Donoghue, and Set Osho, with a very real prospect of a time close to 40 seconds if the change-overs go well.
"In the States, meets always begin with the sprint relays, which is a great way of getting into things without the pressure of an individual event," said John. "It'll be fun, but of course we're really there to focus on how everyone is shaping up for the season."
Trackspeed1 compete again just 48 hours later at the Florida Gliders Spring Classic Meet, in Altamonte Springs, on Saturday 8th May.
Jason Hussain receives intensive therapy from squad physio's Lucy Eggleton and Stuart Phazey!
No comments:
Post a Comment