Sunday, 1 August 2010

BOLARINWA CHASES HIS (YOUTH) OLYMPIC DREAM

Sixteen-year-old Trackspeed1 sprinter, David Bolarinwa, unbeaten over 100m this year, and Europe's number one under-18, faces the race of his life later this month in the World Youth Olympic Games.  But he will have to complete last minute preparations without the coach that has taken him to the brink of Youth Olympic glory.

David wins the European 100m Olympic Trials in Moscow
Coach John Powell, who has remortgaged to travel out to Singapore so he can support his protégée - a real TeamGB medal hope - says that he could be twiddling his fingers in a hotel room rather than helping the Thamesmead-based Cambridge Harrier prepare for the event of a lifetime.

"UK Athletics warned me there may be a problem," he said, "and it appears that the organising committee in Singapore have said that there will be no accreditations for personal coaches.  At one stage I wasn't even going to get in to see David compete, because all the tickets were sold out, but then thankfully the British Olympic Association stepped in and said they could sell coaches tickets for sessions relevant to their athletes. The journey has cost me a fortune, but I want to see a fantastic season through to its climax."

"We won't know for sure whether I can access the training track before the Games begin.  The very idea of possibly not being able to coach David for the final ten days before the event is quite bizarre.  David will have a detailed training programme, and I'm sure the team staff will do all they can to ensure he completes it if I can't.  

"Having seen him through his first serious winter of training, followed him to the European title in Moscow, and overseen an outstanding unbeaten season in the UK to date, I would of course rather like to finish the job!  I can't criticise the British authorities though - UKA and the British Olympic Association seem to have done everything they can, and the flow of information on the event throughout the season has been really helpful in guiding David's preparations."

David is all smiles as he meets leading USA sprints coach Brooks Johnson during pre-season training in Florida
Bolarinwa starts as a strong favourite to medal in the blue ribband event of any Olympics.  This is the first ever 'Youth Olympics' and will take on the format of a full Olympic Games incorporating all sports, but aimed at participants from all over the globe aged under 18.

The South East Londoner is ranked second in the world at present, a fraction behind a Jamaican rival whose best currently stands at 10.46s.  But TeamGB's brightest young sprints prospect in years remains a firm hope for a medal on the day - which colour remains to be seen!  

Bolarinwa has won the English under-20 title as well as the English Schools under-17 championship, not to mention the international schools crown.  His fastest 100m time came in the English under-20 final when he clocked a wind legal 10.47s, after timing a slightly wind-assisted 10.43s in an earlier round.

"I'm going out to Singapore to win," he said, "but as long as I bring home a medal, I guess I'll be fairly happy.  The whole trip's going to be amazing, but I'm going to have to really get it together to achieve my goals there.  I want two golds ideally - with Europe winning the relay too!"

An additional pressure on David will be documentary cameras from CBBC's Blue Peter programme, who are filming him and three other TeamGB athletes from airport to track and home again for footage that will go out early in the New Year.

"This will be a great adventure for David," said Powell, "but he must remain incredibly focussed throughout the trip if he is to get even close to the winners' rostrum."


Check out this website for up-to-date news on how David's preparations go and then how he deals with the world's most talented teenage sprinters in Singapore!
Apprentice David learns from senior international training 
partner James Ellington as they review training video footage


No comments:

Post a Comment