‘Sloley’ but surely for former Campion star
WHILE SHE would have turned heads with her exploits representing Campion College at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championship, Krystal Sloley had global attention as she registered a massive personal best (PB) to finish second in the women’s 100 metres at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational on Saturday.
While donning the gear of the University of Technology, where she still studies, Sloley stopped the clock in 11.09 seconds to finish behind Ivorian Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, who opened her season with a 10.91 clocking.
Coming into the race with a then personal best of 11.25, which she set last week at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) All Comers Series, Sloley was just as stunned as the crowd as she raced world-class Ta Lou-Smith to the line in the night’s event.
While admitting that she expected to have run a personal best due to the quality in the field, she was not expecting such a large improvement on her lifetime best.
“I’ve just been taking it day by day. I’ve always gone by the saying ‘Whatever floats my boat’, but with such a competitive field, I can’t necessarily go by that saying any more,” she said. “I knew a personal best was in me, but I thought that it would be marginal. I made a PB last week Saturday, and over the past year, my personal best has been like that, going down a little by little.
“I wasn’t expecting such a big jump. I told myself if I could do it last week, then I can do it again this week, so I’m really happy about that time.”
In fact, the young athlete explained that she was not meant to have been in the women’s 100m ‘A’ race as she had initially registered with the intention of running in the ‘B’ race. However, when she found herself lining up against some of the best athletes in the world, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
INTO THE BIG LEAGUES
While looking back at her time as a junior athlete, Sloley said her transition to the senior level has been a relatively slow process but she has seen steady progression in her training.
However, with her new personal best, she feels it has changed the way she will be looking at her capabilities as an athlete and could be a signal for much loftier ambitions in her career.
“The transition has been slow. Well, I would say it has been more at my pace, but for the three years, I’ve been making progress and I’ve been consistent, so I’m really proud of myself in terms of that. It’s definitely a change of mindset, and it’s up to me to redirect myself in a much more serious tone.
She added, “I feel like I’m a part of the big league now, and I’ve proven myself, and I really outdid myself. I’m really proud of myself right now.”