By Makeda Brown, TrackAlerts.Com Writer
Romae Quarrie, an aspiring long and triple jumper, shared her aim and love for the sport with TrackAlerts.Com at the 2015 Grace Jackson Track Meet, held at the National Stadium on the 31st of January.
Quarrie is a real lover of track and field, despite not being one of Jamaica’s top athletes, she has and continues to always be involve in the sport. She pursued track and field at the primary level while attending Vaz Prep and notes it was only natural for her to continue at the high school level, whilst attending Campion College.
She was asked just how far she intends to go in the field of athletics, to which she responded “If it’s God’s will, I would pursue it at the level.”
When asked why track and field as opposed to another sporting discipline, Quarrie expressed that she has an undying love and passion for the sport, even down to the atmosphere at each and every track meet. “Because I enjoy track and field, I enjoy being at track meets and participating in events.”
She was asked about her relationship with her coach Patrick Swinton, and states though they have been through their rough patches they have always been able to find common grounds on which to communicate and solve any athletic issues which may arise. “We’ve had our difficulties you know our ups and downs, but we’re able to find a common ground after a period of time.”
She was later questioned about the importance of the athlete-coach bond; her response to which was “I think it is, I would, I would rate it at a 10 (on a scale of 1-10), it is actually extremely important to have a relationship with your coach to know that you can go to them and iron out the problem and they can help you to solve it.” She emphasized that the athlete to coach bond is most important in attaining and maintaining success in athletics.
Quarrie says over the past two years she has been slightly more susceptible to injuries and attributes this to an increasing workload and growing pains; “Lately, in the past 2 years…I think it’s growing pains because my workload has increased and when your workload increases sometimes those things happen” was Quarrie’s response to a question about any recent injuries and what may have been the cause.
As she completes her final year at Campion, she insists that the balance between school work and training must exist. When asked how exactly she does this, Quarrie says she completes all sports related activities at school, she does not carry home workouts, all training related activities stay at school whilst the schoolwork stays in the classroom or at home-which is where she gets the homework, studying and daily review done.
Season 2015, “Well, it started out a little rocky but I’ve made adjustments to my training and I’ve seen where I have improved”. And that she has indeed done as she, at the Queens Grace Jackson Track Meet triple jumped to a personal best of 11.25m which landed her 2nd overall.
Though Quarrie is enthused about her new personal best, this does not place her at the top and as such she is aware that to take home the gold at the upcoming 2015 ISSA Championship much more work and effort will be required.