Smyth Sights Firmly On 2012
5th August
The Newsletter
By Nigel Ringland
Almost a year after his double gold medal winning performance at the Beijing Paralympics, Jason Smyth’s progression is moving in the right direction with the goal now both the Olympics and Paralympics in London in three years time.
For many athletes, across a range of sports, the year after a major Games can be difficult trying to find the motivation to keep or even raise your own standards and while Smyth admits to finding it tough he has still managed to run a personal best in the 100m.
“I can see where they are coming from. It’s hard getting up for competition the year after because so much effort and focus went into the Paralympics and because it’s not such a big year it can be hard mentally but I suppose in my case we went out to Florida for a couple of months and training went very well and that was a great basis for coming into the season,” explains the Derry athlete.
“I ran 10.42 in June and I know I’m in better shape but in sprinting everything has to go well, the conditions have to be good and if they aren’t right for running fast then the opportunities aren’t there but both me and my coach Stephen Maguire feel I should have gone faster, down into the 10.30s but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want but it was still a very good season and I still ran a personal best and the big thing is to continually progress towards the Olympics in London.”
It remains the goal for Smyth, who is partially sighted, to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012.
Only a few Paralympians have been able to do that in the past, in Beijing South African swimmer Natalie du Toit and Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka were the only two.
“That’s my hope if everything goes well and things keep progressing and I can’t see why that wouldn’t happen. We are now taking the next step in those preparations and we will base ourselves for a good part of the winter in Florida for the next three years for the weather, facilities and for people to train with so that it will help me to improve even more and with the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland linked in with the physio coming over, hopefully everything will go well.”
Last weekend Jason Smyth claimed the Irish Senior 100m title for the first time and he’ll seek top class competition in order to improve his own performance.
Paul Hession was missing from that race because of illness.
“I was pleased to win but sometimes you want good athletes in the race to pull you on to faster times. Sometimes that doesn’t happen in a slower field,” Smyth says.
Next year his aim will be the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and if he gets there he’ll know he’s improving because the qualifying time is 10.29 for the 100m. He’s also got the standard for the European Championships in Barcelona.
“If everything goes well next year could be a busy year,” he says.
SINI Camp Offers Ideal Preperations
Back in February Jason Smyth was part of the Sports Institute for Northern Ireland’s first ever all service warm weather training camp for ten athletes from six different sports at the state of the art Vila Real de Santo Antonio training facilities in Portugal.
It gave Smyth and his coach Stephen Maguire a chance to mingle with some of the provinces up and coming competitors from other sports such as young Judo star Lisa Kearney, cyclist Connor McConvey, and triathlete Aileen Morrison.
The camp was designed to allow the athletes to complete their warm weather training alongside service staff and fellow athletes.
“This camp is great for us, it is brilliant to have all the services available to us while we are out here, I really feel that we need that to keep on top of things and it is important to get to know the other athletes and the other sports that are part of SINI. You can learn a lot from them and they can learn from me,” explained Smyth.
“I have been in SINI for three years now and the camp showed how SINI is moving forward, the staff really understand what we are trying to do and are very supportive. I was in Florida earlier this year and will be relocating there for most of the winter over the next three years and the link with SINI will be as strong as ever while I am in the States. The SINI staff will link up with the guys I will be working with in Florida and that communication is hugely important for us.”
It’s trying to make what can be a complicated relationship between the athlete, coach and SINI much easier and it something that Smyth was quick to praise after his gold medal winning runs in Beijing.
“It does need everyone talking to each other. After I’m at the Institute, they’ll report back to Stephen and then they can discuss what needs to be done in order for me to improve. We’ve used them so much over the last couple of years and it’s a team that surrounds the athlete, trying to get the best out of me.”
With thanks to Richard Mulligan, Sports Editor of The Newsletter
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