Young Ferncourt sprinter aims to shine at Champs
‘My mother and my coach support me. It feels good. It feels very nice, and I just want to keep up the good work for them. Yes, I feel the pressure but I listen to my coach and I just go with the pace that he tells me to go with.’
A BRILLIANT talent in the Class Four girls’ 100 metres, Rihanna Scott is becoming Ferncourt High’s rising star and a cornerstone for her school’s track and field programme.
Rihanna has been a breath of fresh air for the small Ferncourt High track team, with the budding sprinter becoming one of the early contenders for the Class Four 100m.
Her coach, Gregg Scott, says Scott is undoubtedly the team’s standout athlete. He hopes that she will become a shining example of the talent that can be unearthed from less-established high schools when their track and field programmes are being supported.
“Ferncourt is a growing school, and I think having an athlete like Rihanna Scott will help to grow the programme because as you know, it has to start somewhere. Thanks to the support from the chairman, the principal, viceprincipals, and supporting staff we’re looking to build a serious programme, and I think we’re heading in the right direction,” coach Greg Scott said.
For Rihanna, her love for track and field started from an early age, with the sprinter recalling her earliest memories in the sport when she was just four years old, running at Red Hills Basic School and dreaming of being an athlete like her idol, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
“I started racing when I was in Class One, back in basic school,” she said. “It was at Red Hills Basic School and I was, like, four [years old]. I wanted to be like Shelly-Ann.”
Rihanna will be carrying a lot of expectations this season, and while the athlete admits that she feels the pressure to perform at her best, she is not worried because of her mother’s support and her coach’s instructions.
“My mother and my coach support me. It feels good. It feels very nice, and I just want to keep up the good work for them. Yes, I feel the pressure but I listen to my coach and I just go with the pace that he tells me to go with,” the young athlete said.
Rihanna has been in top form this season, with the athlete already making waves in her maiden high-school season. In her debut race for Ferncourt, she ran a time of 12.19 second for the meet record at the Pure Water/JC/R. Danny Williams Development meet in January, and at the Camperdown Classics on Saturday, Rihanna raced to 12.51 to win the Class Four event.
With her coach expecting her to dip below the 12-second barrier this year, Rihanna said she is aiming to win her first high school title at Champs.