Frater may call it a day

Without giving a specific date, three-time Olympian Michael Frater is contemplating his retirement from athletics.

Speaking last Saturday at the Gibson McCook Relays, Frater expressed his joy of being part of a golden era in Jamaican track and field. He is, nevertheless, looking forward to a good 2017 season.

Though he didn’t compete at the Relays this year, the 34, year-old sprinter described 2017 as “a very important year for me”.

“It’s getting down there to maybe the final years of my career”, he clarified, “so I just want to finish up on a good note.” He was on his way back to good form last year when he ran 10.04 seconds for the 100m at the inaugural Racers Grand Prix. But, his bid for a place on a fourth consecutive Olympic team was spoilt by an ill-timed bout with the Zika virus.

The 10.04 was his best time in four injury-ridden seasons.

Frater, the 2005 World Championships 100m runner-up, agrees that he was part of a generation of Jamaican athletes who did extremely well.

“It’s the end of a great era for us, and looking forward, for the youngsters to really come and carry on the mantle from this one because the last 10-12 years have been excellent for us,” he said with obvious pride. “We have pretty much dominated the world,” he went on, “and I definitely want to see us continue doing that.”

A 9.88 sprinter at his best, Frater was also a finalist in the 2008 Olympics and helped Jamaica to world record 4x100m victories at those Games, the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics.