Goule’s 1.56.15: Joint best performance of the year?
THUMB YOUR way down the IAAF Comparison Table and do a search for the points value of the national 800-metre record of one minute 56.15 seconds by Natoya Goule.
You won’t find an exact fit, as the table quotes 1233 points for a time of 1.56.12 and 1232 for 1.56.18. Do the same for top Jamaican performances in 2018 and you might be forced to conclude that Goule’s record is the Jamaican performance of the year.
Her room-mate Danielle Williams pops up at 1221 for her personal best of 12.48 seconds in the 100-metre hurdles, with my pick for Jamaica’s female track-and--field athlete of the year, Janieve Russell, arriving with 1222 or 1222 points for her 400-metre hurdles benchmark of 53.46 seconds. As with Goule, the table dots around Russell’s time with point values for 53.45 and 53.48 seconds.
Elaine Thompson gets 1215 points for her 100-metre Jamaican leader of 10.93, while Aisha Praught-Leer earns 1209 for her national steeplechase record of nine minutes 14.09 seconds. Triple jumper Kimberly Williams and shot putter Danielle Thomas-Dodd, winners of gold at the Commonwealth Games and silver at the World Indoor Championships, accumulate 1183 and 1167 points for their best efforts of 2018.
Overall, Goule broke two minutes 10 times, with nine of those under 1.59.4 of those were under 1.58 and three of those were faster than the national record she broke, the 2008 mark of one minute 57.88 seconds by the outstanding Kenia Sinclair.
Goule’s bronzes at the Commonwealth Games and Continental Cup and silver at the NACAC Championships place her behind the eight ball when compared to Russell, ThomasDodd and Williams. Her quality, however, puts her right in the thick of things on a season-long basis.
COMPARISONS
Making comparisons is tough. One thing is clear. Had there been a track and field awards event in Jamaica, Goule would receive the recognition she deserves. Sadly, owing to the absence of sponsorship, there hasn’t been one for three years.
The result is that seasons like Goule’s 2018 campaign don’t receive the respect they deserve. In her event, winning gold medal was probably impossible since the 800m was dominated once again by the exceptional South African Caster Semenya.
In the meantime, you might be interested to know that the IAAF Comparison Tables ascribe 1232 points to Shericka Jackson’s 200 metre personal best of 22.05 seconds set at the Commonwealth Games. Jackson followed the tall Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo home in that final. The Jamaican later won the NACAC and Athletics World Cup races.
Awards apart, it’s great for Jamaica that the post-Bolt era is shaping up so nicely. I personally worry about the late staging of next year’s World Championships. Set for a stage late in September, it challenges coaches and athletes to be ready far later than ever in World Championship history.
The last time that happened, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Jamaica came through with nine medals but with several events where dramatic changes in form left Jamaica undermanned.
Thankfully, the 2020 Olympic Games is set for a more conventional July-August window. The way things are shaping up, fans can feel confident that the black-greenand-gold will fly high there. Goule could be among those shining in 2020. Her renewed commitment for endurance training yielded marked improvement in 2018. It’s very possible that in the upcoming Olympics, she could match Sinclair by reaching the 800 final.
If all goes well, she could even become the first Jamaican to win an Olympic medal in the 800 metres since George Kerr got a bronze in 1960.