Tapper on target for big year
NO ONE knows the ups and downs of hurdling like Megan Tapper, but the 25-year-old Jamaican has placed her trust in the Most High and is targeting the 2019 World Championships. Moreover, the MVP Track Club member is putting in the work that will pave the way to a great season in the 100-metre hurdles.
“Everything is always okay when God is in it,” said the beaming former St Andrew High and University of Technology, Jamaica star.
“I’m connected to my source and everything is falling into place.
“I’m grateful for everything, grateful that I’m here,” shared the athlete, who hurdled into the semis of both the 2016 Olympics and the 2017 World Championships.
That’s a contrast to the despair she experienced at the 2015 national championships. In pursuit of a place on Jamaica’s team to the World Championships in Beijing, she fell near the end of her race and injured herself. A year later, she was national champion and leader of the country’s 100 metre hurdlers to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Tapper is 2-for-2 in her 100 metre hurdles races this year. On March 2, she pressed through a headwind to get the victory at the John Wolmer Speed Fest in 13.39 seconds. Two weeks later, she zipped to the finish line 13.07 seconds at the G.C. Foster Classic. Her positive outlook is infectious. “Yes, I have niggles, issues and pain, but as I said, I’m connected to my source, so those things are not even roadblocks, they’re sleeping policemen.
“You know, you have to slow down, get over them”, the former Megan Simmonds said. “But you know that once you clear it, you’re gone.”
OPTIMISTIC
Her optimism rests in part on a successful 2018 season. In April, she reached the Commonwealth Games final. In the summer, she won a silver medal at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships. Now, her mind is targeting the World Championships, which will be hosted by Doha, Qatar, from September 28 to October 6.
“If it’s in God’s plan, then it’s in God’s plan. I am definitely putting in the work, and I have goals and I intend to achieve them, but it’s all up to the One up there,”Tapper said.
Asked why she skipped the indoor season where her fast start could have been an asset, she replied, “Everything is geared towards 2019 Doha.”
The philosophy that guides her is simple. “All God – stay connected,” she outlined “Stay connected to God because it’s all about Him, all about doing what He wants me to do, fulfilling His purpose and glorifying Him.”