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Brandon Simpson hangs up spikes
KAYON RAYNOR,
Senior staff reporter raynork@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, January 11, 2008
SIMPSON. I don't regret any decisions I've made
Former Jamaican World Junior Championship 400m silver medallist, Brandon Simpson, who switched allegiance to Bahrain in 2005, has retired from professional track and field citing injury problems. He turns 27 in September.
Simpson, now called Eliyyahu, who took silver in the 400m event at the eighth staging of the IAAF World Junior Championships in Santiago, Chile, in 2000, confirmed his retirement from competitive track & field in an interview with the Observer Wednesady from his home in Maryland, USA.
"I'm pretty much getting tired of dealing with injuries and having set a huge goal for a season and watch it go down just because of something as insignificant as an Achilles tendon injury or a hernia or something like that.
"The frustration of that was the initial reason," said Simpson, who anchored Jamaica to gold in the men's mile-relay final at the 2000 IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships.
"I've been nurturing an Achilles injury from maybe since 2000. but last year it was pretty bad; my right Achilles was close to being ruptured at one point and not really wanting to go through surgery, I went the route of rehabilitation. but it just didn't turn out too well," said Simpson, who stopped donning the "black, green and gold" as of September 14, 2005, when the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) agreed to release him.
In releasing the former Ardenne High School star in 2005, the JAAA - under the leadership of Howard Aris - said back then, "The association wishes to thank Simpson for his past performances while representing Jamaica and wishes him success in his future endeavours."
While competing for Jamaica, Simpson won three medals (one silver and two bronze) in the mile relay at the 2001, 2003 and 2005 senior World Championships.
The affable athlete who was born in Florida became eligible to compete for the oil-rich Gulf state as at June 20, 2006, and subsequently clocked 45.68secs to win the 400 metres silver at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, in December of that year.
As to his contentious switch of allegiance from Jamaica to Bahrain, Simpson indicated that he had no regrets.
"Not at all. I don't regret any decisions I've made. I think meeting the people of Bahrain was good and running for Jamaica was also good," Simpson added.
He has a lifetime best of 44.64secs in the quarter-mile for Bahrain in 2006 and is the sixth fastest Jamaican in history over the distance with 44.70secs done in 2005.
Only Roxbert Martin (44.49), Bertland Cameron (44.50), Greg Haughton (44.56), Michael McDonald (44.61) and Michael Blackwood (44.64) have gone faster than Simpson.
Simpson, who has a daughter, Ymahn, by his wife Yahkimah, indicated he will now focus on his religious ministry while helping a few athletes on a small scale.
"I have a couple of athletes who I coach - not in terms of trying to make any business out of it; I just do it to help them get to a different place in their athletic career," he said, adding that he is willing to impart what he learnt over his short career.
KAYON RAYNOR,
Senior staff reporter raynork@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, January 11, 2008
SIMPSON. I don't regret any decisions I've made
Former Jamaican World Junior Championship 400m silver medallist, Brandon Simpson, who switched allegiance to Bahrain in 2005, has retired from professional track and field citing injury problems. He turns 27 in September.
Simpson, now called Eliyyahu, who took silver in the 400m event at the eighth staging of the IAAF World Junior Championships in Santiago, Chile, in 2000, confirmed his retirement from competitive track & field in an interview with the Observer Wednesady from his home in Maryland, USA.
"I'm pretty much getting tired of dealing with injuries and having set a huge goal for a season and watch it go down just because of something as insignificant as an Achilles tendon injury or a hernia or something like that.
"The frustration of that was the initial reason," said Simpson, who anchored Jamaica to gold in the men's mile-relay final at the 2000 IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships.
"I've been nurturing an Achilles injury from maybe since 2000. but last year it was pretty bad; my right Achilles was close to being ruptured at one point and not really wanting to go through surgery, I went the route of rehabilitation. but it just didn't turn out too well," said Simpson, who stopped donning the "black, green and gold" as of September 14, 2005, when the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) agreed to release him.
In releasing the former Ardenne High School star in 2005, the JAAA - under the leadership of Howard Aris - said back then, "The association wishes to thank Simpson for his past performances while representing Jamaica and wishes him success in his future endeavours."
While competing for Jamaica, Simpson won three medals (one silver and two bronze) in the mile relay at the 2001, 2003 and 2005 senior World Championships.
The affable athlete who was born in Florida became eligible to compete for the oil-rich Gulf state as at June 20, 2006, and subsequently clocked 45.68secs to win the 400 metres silver at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, in December of that year.
As to his contentious switch of allegiance from Jamaica to Bahrain, Simpson indicated that he had no regrets.
"Not at all. I don't regret any decisions I've made. I think meeting the people of Bahrain was good and running for Jamaica was also good," Simpson added.
He has a lifetime best of 44.64secs in the quarter-mile for Bahrain in 2006 and is the sixth fastest Jamaican in history over the distance with 44.70secs done in 2005.
Only Roxbert Martin (44.49), Bertland Cameron (44.50), Greg Haughton (44.56), Michael McDonald (44.61) and Michael Blackwood (44.64) have gone faster than Simpson.
Simpson, who has a daughter, Ymahn, by his wife Yahkimah, indicated he will now focus on his religious ministry while helping a few athletes on a small scale.
"I have a couple of athletes who I coach - not in terms of trying to make any business out of it; I just do it to help them get to a different place in their athletic career," he said, adding that he is willing to impart what he learnt over his short career.
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