Staying home could prove the right fillip for Hyde
Published:Wednesday | July 13, 2022 | 12:06 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
SWEPT TRACK club head coach Okeile Stewart says that 400m hurdler Jaheel Hyde’s improvement in form in time for the World Championships has been attributed to remaining at home to train after a difficult adjustment to his international schedule.
While his 2022 season has started slowly, he hit his stride at the JAAA National Senior and Junior Championships last month, winning the national title and hitting the 48-second mark for the first time this season in the process.
Stewart has been working with Hyde since 2019 and he says that compared to last season where he clocked a personal best of 48.18 to make the Tokyo Olympic team, Hyde has had more invitations to meets this year, which has been an adjustment for him and has affected him getting into his running.
“Maybe people would have loved to have seen him (running faster) in the hurdles this season but having to travel and compete, he is not too accustomed to that in terms of flying and then competing,” Stewart told The Gleaner.
2022 SEASON
Hyde started his 2022 season in the 400m hurdles on the international circuit with his first three events taking him to Doha, Qatar; Eugene; and Rabat, Morocco. He finished fifth at the Wanda Diamond Leagues in Doha and Rabat and seventh in Eugene.
The June 5 meet in Rabat would be his final event before the National Championships, the athlete electing to stay home and train. He got his reward, clocking 48.51 seconds for his third national title. Stewart says that returning home to train along with his technical improvements made the difference.
“In these international meets, he has to allow himself to learn from the different experiences. You would have seen a difference in him being home and competing at the National Trials. He went 48 seconds. We have worked on a lot of things where he has gotten a little stronger, a little faster,” Okeile Stewart.
Hyde’s season’s best is the 10th-fastest time in the world this year and Stewart believes that Hyde’s evolution as an athlete and as a person will give him the best chance to make his first major senior championship final.
“He is a lot stronger, a lot faster, a lot more mature in the event. A lot more focused. And I expect that his progression will continue throughout the championships. We have high hopes for him,” Stewart said.