STANDOUT ATHLETE
in Edwin Allen's golden era track and field
WHILE EDWIN Allen sprinter Kevona Davis did not get a sprint double in the Class 3 Girls 100m and 200m sprints at the ISSA-Grace-Kennedy Boys and Girls’ Championship because of her false start in the 100m final, she said that it helped to motivate her to make history just one day later in the longer-distance race.
Davis went on to break former Holmwood Technical athlete Anneisha McLaughlin’s 200m record of 23.11 seconds when she clocked 23.07 to take gold in the event.
Now 15 years old, Davis was born a year and some months after the previous record was set.
She said that she did not have any intention of creating a new record as she only wanted to make a statement after the false start, which she said lit a fire in her belly.
“When I ran the 200, I was only there to win, and just get rid of the anger that was inside me,” Davis shared with The Gleaner. “It was because I did not get to run the 100 the night before. It made me more focused and hungrier.”
The teen athlete said that given what happened the previous day, she was not anxious when she settled into her blocks to start the 200m final.
“I was not [nervous],” she said. “I’m kind of used to the crowd because I’m doing it for, like, three years.”
The win delighted her, but learning that she had gone on to create history surprised her.
“I did not know that I got a record. I only knew that I won,” Davis noted.
Her coach, Michael Dyke, stated that he knew she would have challenged the record given how disappointed she was to have false-started the previous day.
“I knew it was possible with the fact that she had false-started in the 100, and I knew she was coming out, probably with a vengeance, knowing that a lot of persons were disappointed with the fact that she was disappointing in the 100. So I knew she would have given it her best shot, and a record was no surprise to me,” Dyke uttered.
BEING A ROLE MODEL
Being one of the standout athletes in Edwin Allen High’s golden era of track and field, Davis stated that she already feels a sense of responsibility as she said that younger athletes at the school and also those in primary schools already see her as a role model.
“I went to the Sagicor Junior Champs and everybody wants to meet Kevona. Everybody wants to be like Kevona,” she said with a smile. “It makes me feel like Shelly-Ann (Fraser-Pryce, who, Davis said, is one of her role models), like I’m a star.”
However, she said that this does not make her feel pressured as she knows what she is capable of.
Provided she does well at this weekend’s National Junior Championships, the young lady shared that she is expecting to go to the IAAF World Junior Games in Kenya next month and run times of 11.20 and 22.89 in the 100m and 200m sprints, respectively.