Leford Green, up to a month ago, did not see himself as a National champion, now he has to force himself to live with that reality, at least for another year.
And while he will have to live with the fact of being called National 400m hurdles Champion again for at least a year, come June 2011, (the year of the World Championships) he will be under more pressure because athletes such as Danny McFarlane and Isa Phillips are not taking him lightly.
Green, who left Greater Portmore to attend Kingston College sixth form, produced the run of his life to take the national 400m hurdles title at Jamaica Trials last Saturday (27 June).
In a one-on-one interview with trackalerts.com, he disclosed, “I started believing I could be National Champion after I ran 48:67 for the NCAA D2 national title.”
His time of 48.67 secs, (the fastest by a Jamaican athlete this year and ahead of Isa Phillips' 48.87),) was not far off American Olympic Champion, Bershawn Jackson’s 48.50 NCAA, meet record.
At Trials, Green, who represented Jamaica at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, ran 48.90 to beat Roxroy Cato 49.45 and Adrian Findlay (49.66).
In a one-on-one interview with Anthony Foster, Green, who is coached by Lennox Graham at Johnson C. Smith University, was asked....
TA: Leford, 2010 is so far a very good year for you, talk to us a little about it?
LG: First, I would like to thank God and my family and friends that have been supporting me. I'm having a great year and I have been really working hard, just a lot of hard work and determination.
TA: You won the NCAA D2 title, almost breaking a famous American athlete record, what was the feeling then and now?
LG: Well then I was not think about the time nor the record I wasn’t aware of the record until after the race, I was just focused on running a technical race. Now I just know it’s in my plans for next year.
TA: Talk to us a little about your NCAA D2 season, did it started the way you expected, and did it end the way you wanted it?
LG: Yea, it did start how I wanted it to but I had some back pain in the middle of the season, close to Indoor Nationals and I was out for like a week and a half but I recovered from that and picked up from where I left off.
So yes, it did end the way I wanted it to.
TA: What’s the competition like at the NCAA level?
LG: The competition at the NCAA level is highly competitive.
TA: How do you train for NCAA knowing that you also had National trials less than a month later?
LG: I train real hard throughout the year and I have a good coach in Lennox Graham, who I trust and believe in. Whatever he instructs me to do, I just go out and do it.
TA: You are still riding high from winning the National title...Did you envision yourself becoming Jamaica's national Champion earlier this year?
LG: No, not until after I ran 48:67 and won the NCAA D2 national title.
TA: How difficult was it to stay the course and make sure success was yours at trials?
LG: Well I work hard in practice and I came with a single focus, which was to just worry about my own lane.
TA: How does it feel to be the National Champion?
LG: Amazing, maybe because its my first national title at any level, plus its the first Senior national title for my coach (Lennox Graham) who is known for coaching great athletes.
TA: What’s next for you...what’s the aim for the rest of the season?
LG: Well I’m now back at school in Charlotte, North Carolina. I've just finished a research that I have been doing for the past six weeks, now its back to training and getting ready for CAC. My aim is to go CAC and run a technically correct race and hope by doing that, I can be victorious.
TA: Where does this put you ahead of the more important season, 2011, a World Championship year.
LG: This puts me in a good position because this year is the year that I've dedicated to learning the event and I’m still in the process of doing that and running fast, so barring injuries 2011 should be a good year for me.
TA: And finally, are you ready to put down the 400m and focus more on the 400m hurdles, if yes, why do you think you have a better chance?
Comments
Angela....you might have to take back those words if things keep progressing for the male 400m runners. So, far Gonzales as look a threat and Ricardo Chambers is stepping up his game. And from 2008, I'v been thinking about possibility of Bolt runner anchor leg, and within reach on the final exchange. That would be a sight to see.
Maybe it's not too far fetch afterall. Also, remember Gonzales and Bolt are best friends from childhood. Don't you think they've talk about running together on Jamaica's 4x400m relay team? We will have to wait and see.
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