1500m is a risk worth taking – Praught-Leer

DOHA, Qatar:

Jamaican distance athlete Aisha Praught-Leer has admitted that switching to the 1500 metres from the 3000m steeplechase was a risk, but said she is confident that it was one worth taking, ahead of her start to competition tomorrow at the World Championships in Doha.

Praught-Leer, the Commonwealth Games champion in the 3000m Steeplechase, also made the finals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 2017 World Championships, before deciding to focus on the 1500m event in an effort to make the most of her speed.

“I’m really looking forward to the 1500m. It’s such a different challenge to step out of my comfort zone and into a new event and try to remain one of the best in the world,” Praught-Leer told The Gleaner. “My target is to make it to the final, and see what I got when I get there. I’ve never done three rounds of a 1500m, but I spent all year doing aerobic strength and got really sharp in the last month. I’m in great shape so I’m excited to see where I end up.”

In her first full season as a 1500m athlete, Praught-Leer finished second at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and posted a season’s best of 4:06.11. However, she does have 4:05.52 speed, and although she has not gone that fast since 2015, the Jamaican is hoping to find her best here in Doha.

Moving to switch

“We moved to switch to the 1500m this year because I’ve run fast at the distance when it hasn’t been my focus. Training for steeplechase wears tough on the body, so I never got a chance to really test myself at 1500m with the proper training. It’s a learning curve for sure, but my body is benefiting from less wear and tear and the speed is fun,” she added.

“I feel like the 1500m is riskier, but the reward could be greater. It’s like rolling the dice in the finals of a major championship. Getting to the final will be more difficult for me than the steeple, but once you’re there anything can happen because tactics play a huge role in the result,” Praught-Leer added.

Praught-Leer said she is happy with her preparations coming into the championships, after spending the past few weeks in Switzerland where she continued her altitude training.

“My last training block at altitude in St Mortiz, Switzerland, was awesome. Our team had a great vibe and my training shifted to more speed work, which my body handled well. It’s the same altitude as my home in Boulder, but only an hour time difference to Doha. We got to ‘live high, train low’ which was new for me.

“The track where I did my big sessions was only 45 minutes away but almost at sea level, so I could do better speed workouts and then go back up the mountain to stay and do my easy running,” she explained.

If she advances to the final, Praught-Leer will join national record holder Yvonne Graham (4:01.84), who competed in the final at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg finishing 10th, and Mardrea Hyman, who also finished 10th, in the 2001 championships in Edmonton.

The women’s 1500m heats will begin today at 5:35 p.m. here (9:35 a.m. Jamaica time).