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VCB eyes athletic legacy
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
Saturday, October 22, 2011
BOGUE, St James — Jamaica's sprint queen Veronica Campbell Brown appears to be still weighing which title would be worth more — winning the elusive Olympic Games 100m gold medal or an unprecedented third straight 200m gold in London next year.
With 12 major global individual medals from the Olympic Games and the Outdoors and Indoors IAAF World Championships safely locked away in her medals cabinet, Campbell Brown has established her legacy as one of the greatest female sprinters ever, but still has unfinished business left.
Double Olympic champion Veronica Campbell Brown overlooks some work being done by three Cornwall College students at a Dignity Day workshop held at Herbert Morrison Technical on Thursday. (Photo: Paul Reid)
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While saying the 100m gold would be "nice, the icing on the cake", Campbell Brown, who was sporting a gold necklace with '21.74' her personal best in the 200m embossed on it, says a third straight 200m title "excites her".
"It would be nice to be victorious in the 100," she told the Observer after a World Dignity Day event held at Herbert Morrison Technical on Thursday, "but I am excited about the 200m. I don't know if it is my destiny to be the first woman in history to win three consecutive titles in the 200m... I would be pleased to win the 100m as well".
Campbell Brown, who won her first IAAF World Championships 200m title while winning silver medals in the 100m and 4x100m relays at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in August/September, said she will resume training next week.
She hosted students from six St James high schools at Herbert Morrison at the second World Dignity Day observance in Jamaica and said she was happy to be helping to give back to the young people.
While she said she had her focus on being fit and healthy for the Olympics in London, she said she knew the competition would be "fierce".
"The objective will be to continue to work hard and improve on any weakness that I have and look forward to a great year next year because I know the competition will be fierce. It is an Olympic year and everybody will be in tip-top shape," she noted, before adding that the first hurdle will be to make the Jamaican team.
Campbell Brown, the winner of five relay medals, the first coming in 2000 when she was still a student at Vere Technical, gave herself a grade of eight out of 10 for her performance last year.
"Last year was a good one. I accomplished some of what I had on my agenda, not everything... but that is satisfactory for me and I am thankful as the biggest thing for me was to stay healthy; I won the World Championships 200m for the first time, got a silver in the 100m and overall three medals from three events."
Campbell Brown was still unsure if she would defend her World Indoor 60m title in Istanbul, Turkey in March, saying she would wait and see how her training was going first. "Right now I am not sure if I will participate; I have to wait and see, but have not reached a conclusive decision yet."
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer
Saturday, October 22, 2011
BOGUE, St James — Jamaica's sprint queen Veronica Campbell Brown appears to be still weighing which title would be worth more — winning the elusive Olympic Games 100m gold medal or an unprecedented third straight 200m gold in London next year.
With 12 major global individual medals from the Olympic Games and the Outdoors and Indoors IAAF World Championships safely locked away in her medals cabinet, Campbell Brown has established her legacy as one of the greatest female sprinters ever, but still has unfinished business left.
Double Olympic champion Veronica Campbell Brown overlooks some work being done by three Cornwall College students at a Dignity Day workshop held at Herbert Morrison Technical on Thursday. (Photo: Paul Reid)
1/1 While saying the 100m gold would be "nice, the icing on the cake", Campbell Brown, who was sporting a gold necklace with '21.74' her personal best in the 200m embossed on it, says a third straight 200m title "excites her".
"It would be nice to be victorious in the 100," she told the Observer after a World Dignity Day event held at Herbert Morrison Technical on Thursday, "but I am excited about the 200m. I don't know if it is my destiny to be the first woman in history to win three consecutive titles in the 200m... I would be pleased to win the 100m as well".
Campbell Brown, who won her first IAAF World Championships 200m title while winning silver medals in the 100m and 4x100m relays at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in August/September, said she will resume training next week.
She hosted students from six St James high schools at Herbert Morrison at the second World Dignity Day observance in Jamaica and said she was happy to be helping to give back to the young people.
While she said she had her focus on being fit and healthy for the Olympics in London, she said she knew the competition would be "fierce".
"The objective will be to continue to work hard and improve on any weakness that I have and look forward to a great year next year because I know the competition will be fierce. It is an Olympic year and everybody will be in tip-top shape," she noted, before adding that the first hurdle will be to make the Jamaican team.
Campbell Brown, the winner of five relay medals, the first coming in 2000 when she was still a student at Vere Technical, gave herself a grade of eight out of 10 for her performance last year.
"Last year was a good one. I accomplished some of what I had on my agenda, not everything... but that is satisfactory for me and I am thankful as the biggest thing for me was to stay healthy; I won the World Championships 200m for the first time, got a silver in the 100m and overall three medals from three events."
Campbell Brown was still unsure if she would defend her World Indoor 60m title in Istanbul, Turkey in March, saying she would wait and see how her training was going first. "Right now I am not sure if I will participate; I have to wait and see, but have not reached a conclusive decision yet."
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