Like every other Bajan, I should be worried about Ryan Brathwaite’s form two months ahead of the World Athletic Championships, but am not.
The defending champion in the 110-metre hurdles has struggled badly this year while some of his main rivals have prospered.
Brathwaite’s best time for the year is 13.54 seconds, way off the 13.14 mark that earned him the crown in Berlin in 2009.
Surely, he knows that kind of time might just manage to get him in the semi-finals, therefore he has to improve to regain the race-form that brought him glory in Germany and made him an instant national hero here.
Having followed Brathwaite’s career closely from his days at Lester Vaughan, I am certain that he is far from pleased with his current standing.
It must be tearing him up deep inside to know that he has been at the rear of the field in recent races.
At the moment Brathwaite is not in World Championship mode or shape. In fact, he looks at sea, searching to find fertile ground again.
Some of his most recent performances included poor results at the Jamaica Invitational and in Ostrava in the Czech Republic last week when he fell and did not finish.
At the point of the fall he wasn’t a factor in the drive for the top spots.
On the other hand, while he is struggling, his main rivals are thriving and positioning themselves to make a positive impact in South Korea, venue for the World Championships.
For instance, Cuban Dayron Robles was a comfortable winner in Ostrava while American David Oliver clocked 12.94 seconds on Saturday at a meet in Oregon, beating Chinese star Liu Xiang into second place.
It was reported that Liu is testing a new seven stride starting technique.
These developments will not be lost on Brathwaite and he will be plotting his response.
Fundamentally, I am not duly worried because it may not be such a bad thing that he hasn’t hit anything near top form yet.
Notwithstanding his present form, I prefer to see him peak at the right time.
I would also agree, though, that winning some races will help his cause and boost his confidence.
Strategy is important in the pathway to success and while I am not suggesting he is running badly deliberately, I don’t want Brathwaite to be burnt out when the day of reckoning comes.
On his day Brathwaite will still be a handful and cannot be taken lightly.
Like Liu, he might have to make some adjustments that will be effective in his quest to defend his title successfully.
There are some learned, local pundits who think that Brathwaite is carrying too much bulk and they stressed that while strength training is good, it can be a tough transition while your body adjusts to the change.
Some are suggesting that if he has lost his way, then the perfect thing to do is to come back to base and hook up with coach Alwyn Babb who was instrumental in laying the foundation for him to excel.
This is not to say that his present foreign coach doesn’t know what he is doing but it could be a case where Brathwaite needs to rediscover that special bond between himself and those who have been there for him all along in order for him to rediscover himself.
I know for a fact that 2000 Olympic 100-metre bronze medallist Obadele Thompson never broke ranks with Frank Blackman despite having an international coach.
Perhaps, it is timely for Brathwaite to return to his roots and be clothed in the genuine friendship of his peers in his stomping ground through Church Gap in Hillaby.
The mirror in which he needs to see his true reflection can be found no other place than in Barbados.
Here is where he needs to hear and to know that he is still loved and we will rally with him through thick and thin.
He must be reassured that we are beside him every step of the way as he tries to clear another hurdle.
It was bound to happen that as world champion it would bring extra pressures and additional challenges, but where is it written in stone that Ryan Brathwaite will succumb meekly and not respond in the affirmative?
I believe he will bounce back positively in the next two months and make us all proud again as he did in Berlin.
All things are possible once he plays his part.
Andi Thornhill is sports editor of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation.
