Bajan middle-distance runner Jonathan Jones is not just satisfied with breaking Elvis Forde’s 34-year record in the
400 metres.
The golden boy now has his eyes set on competing at next year’s Olympic Games in Japan.
The former CARIFTA gold medallist, Harrison College and Coleridge and Parry student ran a lifetime best 45.02 last Friday to finish second in his 400 metres quarter-final heat at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Sacramento.
Jones also booked his ticket to the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in September.
“Even though I qualified for the World Championships, my coach thinks it would be best for me to focus on the Olympics so that I can represent my country there. It is exactly what my goal is. I want to qualify for the Olympics and go through to the rounds and give it my all,” Jones told Saturday Sport during a telephone interview.
“I will always go after faster times and in getting faster times I will qualify for bigger meets; that is just my mind set. I will compete at the Pan American Games in Peru and then after that my season will be shut down. I will have my off-season and start recovering to prepare for the Olympic Games,” he added.
How to make a 4️⃣4️⃣:7️⃣8️⃣look easy! #HTownSpeedCity pic.twitter.com/IdKJ1uDPCH
The 20-year-old, a student of the University of Texas, has credited his overseas exposure as a major contributor to recent success.
“It’s all thanks to the resources and facilities and the coaching staff available to me. I had two great coaches back home in Barbados in the likes of Ramon Armstrong and Leo Garnes. Here, I also have the meal plans, therapists, massages and anything that I need is here at my disposal and that is the biggest difference in my success back home and the United States,” he said.
“With the resources here in Texas, I believe that will not be a hard thing to do. I have people here looking after me and making sure that I’m happy mentally and physically. Everyone is at the top of their game here.”
Acknowledging the other stellar performances by his fellow countrymen and schoolmates Mario Burke and Triston Gibbons, Jones called for track and field to be taken seriously in Barbados. He said the collegiate circuit was a big avenue through which the island’s junior athletes could excel.
“It says we have the potential and I hope people see we have the ability to compete at this level. They can put more faith and trust in us and help us a little more.
“I know the Stadium isn’t at its best right now but I would like to see a little bit more for our athletes. If I can do it, and I’m just a little boy from Checker Hall, St Lucy, then I don’t see why anyone else can’t do it,” Jones said.