Kemoy Campbell eyeing record run

After a bout with injury, Jamaica's leading distance runner, Kemoy Campbell, is raring to go.

Campbell, a World Championships 5000 metres finalist in London last year, is training hard for an outdoor debut in Kingston at the Jamaica Invitational. The former Bellefield Comprehensive High star is hoping for a successful return to action.

An injury bumped his bid for the recent Commonwealth Games but his sights are set on Kingston.

It's taken a while but it's definitely getting there," he said about his recovery from his base in the United States. "I think eventually I'm going to be racing May 19 in Jamaica so I'm looking forward to that", he said with relish, "the Jamaica Invitational".

"It was an Achilles injury, something I think has been plaguing me for a while but I've got some people to help me," he explained. "They've given me exercises and rehab for it and it's proven good so far. So I'm just continuing to do the exercises and lifting weights just to strengthen my muscles to prevent me from getting that injury again," he resolved.

His recovery is well under way.

I would say I'm at 90 per cent but I'm pretty healthy getting there," he estimated. Every training session that I approach, I approach with the mindset of trying to get fit for Jamaica", he said. The last time he was home, at the Racers Grand Prix last year, he broke the national 3000m record with a time of 7 minutes 41.87 seconds and his mind is on that mark again. "I really want to break the record for the 3000m again, but we'll see what the field is like," he projected.

That race showed how far he had come from his days at Bellefield. In his last race for the Manchester school, he won the high school 3000 metres at the Penn Relays in 8 minutes 20.14 seconds.

"I think opening in Jamaica should be good, my home crowd and it's always a pleasure racing in Jamaica so we'll see how it goes," he said expectantly.