For Whyte, age is just another hurdle
LONDON Seven world championships after she first made her debut on the global stage, nerves can still get the better of Angela Whyte — but these days, they’re different.
The 37-year-old from Edmonton didn’t advance to the 100-metre hurdles semifinals after finishing sixth in her heat at the world track and field championships Friday morning. In the moments after her disappointing run, the veteran hurdler admitted she’s concerned about a career she’s not ready to close the book on yet.
“It’s mental,” Whyte said. “Ever heard of the yips? Well, I’ve got a pretty serious case of the yips.”
Whyte was 21 at her first worlds in 2001 in her hometown and made all but two world teams since. She’s also a three-time Olympian, finishing sixth in 2004 in Athens, a result overshadowed by Perdita Felicien’s fall in the final.
“Back then, it was really welcome nerves — like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so excited,’” Whyte said. “Whereas now I’m trying to force myself to be excited because I’m scared about all the things that could go wrong, or what’s going to happen with me as far as support to continue to keep training. So I carry a lot of weight on me when I shouldn’t.”
Whyte has a master’s degree in sports psychology, but is her own worst client.
“When you’re competing, you can’t focus on (the negative). I know that,” she said. “I know all these things, but when it comes to yourself, it’s really hard to psych yourself.”
Part of what still propels Whyte is her pride in being a role model. She points to Kim Collins, Merlene Ottey and Canada’s Diane Cummins as others who have succeeded despite their age.
Collins, from Saint Kitts and Nevis, ran 9.93 in the 100 metres when he was 40. Ottey, a 14-time world medallist for Jamaica, moved to Slovenia where she anchored its 4x100 relay team at the age of 52. Cummins was Canada’s top 800m runner for a decade before retiring at 40.
“I still have some good stuff in the tank, and I do want to be an example,” Whyte said. “I want to continue. Just got to figure out how to make it work when it counts the most.”