Sprintec ready for restart
MAURICE WILSON, the head coach of Sprintec Track Club, says his charges will be ready to compete when action in athletics resumes in August.
The veteran sprint coach says that even though the recent twoweek lockdown of St Catherine, where the club is based, hindered some of his athletes from carrying out basic fitness drills, he thinks they have enough time to work themselves back into shape to take on the European circuit.
The lockdown was put into effect to curtail the spread of the coronavirus disease in the area.
“Because there are no competitions, it is very difficult to state the shape that they are in right now. When news broke of COVID-19, they were given directives to maintain some level of fitness.
“We were able to do some form of training after, when we found ways to adhere to the protocols. A number of them are in competitive shape, and if they are given the opportunity to compete in the summer, then they should do well,” he said.
“We started the season very well this year. The members of Sprintec were looking good up until that point when the virus derailed the season,” Wilson added.
INJURY FEARS
World Athletics recently announced that its Wanda Diamond League series will resume in the middle of August and will finish in October.
Wilson, who is also the principal of the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, said that he suspects that his athletes and others will be more susceptible to injuries when the season resumes because of the break in competitive action.
“I am concerned that the athletes may be exposed to more injuries. When you are not competing regularly and you jump back into competition, the propensity for you to be injured is greater. It is possible for them to get injuries,”Wilson said.
Earlier this week, a report showed that players in Germany’s Bundesliga, the first major football league to resume after COVID19 brought sports to a halt, are picking up injuries at twice the rate they were before the league was suspended.
Sprintec’s standout athletes include World Championships 400m finalist Demish Gaye, 2014 Commonwealth Games 200m champion Rasheed Dwyer, 2018 Commonwealth Games 400m silver-medal winner Anastasia Le-Roy, sprint hurdler Yanique Thompson, and Ronda Whyte.
‘A number of them are in competitive shape, and if they are given the opportunity to compete in the summer, then they should do well.’