Mission accomplished
Young enjoying the fruits of her labour no matter the outcome
Published:Sunday | July 17, 2022 | 12:12 AM
EUGENE, Oregon:
FROM A 4x400-metre mixed relay alternate at the Tokyo Olympics last year to making her first senior team at the 2022 World Championships, Charokee Young already feels blessed.
For Young, her success this season is everything she envisioned at the start of the year.
Young, who competes for Texas A&M University but turned pro recently with a PUMA signature, will make her senior debut today in the first round of the women’s 400m, starting at 2:00 p.m.
Her rise this year, according to her, has been the result of adjusting to the rigours of the collegiate season as well as the fire that was fuelled when she failed to make the Olympic in an individual event.
“I knew that I had the ability to get to the level to represent Jamaica in the individual event. So making the goal, I felt was very realistic and it was something that was very personal to me. So to achieve that goal I am really happy and proud of myself,” Young told The Sunday Gleaner. “I’m really grateful for all the good things that God has done for me this season.”
This year has seen Young clock a personal best of 49.87 seconds, the second-fastest time in the world this year. Only the Dominican Republic Marileidy Paulino (49.49) has run faster.
LANDMARK YEAR
But it was when she opened her season with 50 seconds flat that she realised that this could be a landmark year for her.
“It boosted my confidence seeing that the abilities that I knew I had in myself were coming into the light and everybody could see that,” Young said.
“It motivated me to keep pushing and trying to continue reaching for my goals because they are attainable.”
While she is in familiar environs at Hayward Field where she finished second in the College Outdoor Championships, Young says that enjoying the moment is critical for her.
“Track and field is a very hard sport. So I feel like trying to do little things to try to make the sport more enjoyable helps the process to be less painful. So I definitely try to enjoy everything, every day as much as I can,” Young said.
ROLE MODELS
It will not only be enjoyment but pride as she will be joining national champion Candice McLeod and world championship bronze medallist and women’s team captain Stephenie-Ann McPherson on the world stage. Young says that the two women have been role models for her as she has risen through the ranks.
“Those ladies are very inspirational. I look up to them as athletes. Whenever I am overseas practising, I watch their progress and how they have improved. They motivate me to become a better athlete and those two women are athletes that I look up to a lot,” Young said.