Goule eyeing top three finish at Eugene World Champs

Olympic Games 800 metres finalist Natoya Goule says she is now back to her best after recovery from an injury which she sustained before this year’s World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

The 31-year-old Goule, who is yet to compete in a 800m race outdoors this season, finished second in the Olympic Development Women’s 600m Elite event in one minute 24.09 seconds at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia last Saturday.

The race was won by Olympic 800m champion Athing Mu of the United States. Mu was a runaway winner in 1:22.74, the fourth-fastest time ever run over the distance. Goule, who finished sixth in the 800m at the last World Championships, is currently preparing to compete in her fifth World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Eugene, Oregon.

She told The Gleaner that she will be adjusting her running style this year, which she hopes will help her to secure a podium finish at the World Championships.

“I am in practice preparing my strength and everything that I know that I need to work on,” said Goule.“I got to be more patient when I race and so I am just working on everything now,” she said.

“I am back to being healthy because I was not healthy right before the World Indoors. I got a cramp attempting a 400 metres and so I went to World Indoors injured but I am back to myself again and trying to stay healthy,” Goule said.

Not focused on time

The former Manchester High athlete, who holds Jamaica’s national record in the 800m with a time of 1:56.15, pointed out that she is not thinking about running fast times this season because her mindset is to ensure that she runs a proper race to get on to the podium.

“I don’t think it is about the times, I think it is about the pace and how you race because you might think about time and then you go out there trying to get a time and that is when you fail,” Goule said.

She noted that she was somewhat pleased with her performance in Saturday’s 600m race.

“It was just about going out there and doing my best. I wanted to run faster but my first 200 metres was a bit slow but I am glad that I finished healthy,” Goule said.

“I came down with the cold last week into this week. However, I am happy with my outcome but there is always room for improvement,” she said.