Knott enters Texas bubble
Filipino-American sprinter Kristina Knott revs up her chances of making it to the Tokyo Olympics as she enters a training bubble in Texas on Tuesday. Knott, the fastest woman in Southeast Asia, said she would be working with coaches Roshan Griffin and Carlo Buzzichelli for two months in a bid to shatter the Olympic-qualifying time of 22.8 seconds in the women’s 200-meter run.
She said she only has until 29 June to make it so she has to work doubly hard to formally punch her Olympic ticket.
“The preparation is just the same as how I’ve been training. It’s about understanding my race model and executing it,” said Knott, who ruled the women’s 200-meter run of the previous SEA Games.
Together with hurdler Eric Cray, Knott is tipped to join vaulter EJ Obiena in the Summer Games.
In fact, she kicked off her buildup in record-setting fashion, clocking 7.26 seconds to shatter the national indoor record in the women’s 60-meter run during the preliminaries of the American Track League Series in Arkansas on 1 February.
Prior to that, she tallied 7.32 seconds to win the gold medal in the KMS Invitational Meet on 25 January, where she broke the national record set by legendary Lydia de Vega-Mercado of 7.37 seconds in 1988.
Now, she’s focussed on making her first Olympic appearance.
“I’m very determined to qualify for the Olympics. That’s my main focus this outdoor season,” Knott said.
“Booking flights and seeing the world is what keeps me motivated. You can’t travel if you’re running slow.”
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico said Knott and Cray would be sent to a training camp in Nagasaki, Japan as soon they punch their respective Olympic slots.