Broadbell happy to see the fruits of hard work
Published:Sunday | January 22, 2023 | 1:41 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
THE FULL weight of what sprint hurdler Rasheed Broadbell achieved on Friday may not have sunk in yet.
However, in the afterglow of his first Sportsman of the Year honour, the 22-year-old was grateful the work he has been putting in finally produced the results he targeted after a difficult 2021 campaign.
Broadbell took home the prize ahead of runner-up Rovman Powell and Commonwealth Games 400-metre hurdles silver medallist Jaheel Hyde at the RJRGLEANER National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards on Friday night.
After narrowly missing out on his first World Championship final, Broadbell had a second half to remember in 2022, winning the Commonwealth Games 110m hurdles title, equalling the Games record first set by England’s Colin Jackson in 1990 and matched four years later. He would go on to beat world champion Grant Holloway twice that season, the latter seeing him clock a personal best of 12.99, becoming the third Jamaican to go under 13 seconds.
It was a moment that Broadbell is slowly processing. Bundled into that process is the fact that Broadbell has put himself on the track and field world map.
REALLY GRATEFUL
“I am feeling really grateful and humble at this moment. I haven’t really put all the feelings into words, but I feel really grateful,” Broadbell said.
The source of that grace came off the back of a 2021 season where everything seemed to be going right for him but ended up going horribly wrong.
An injury in training derailed his bid to compete in his very first Olympic Games in Tokyo after a strong start to the season. But Broadbell said an improved mindset and consistent work were the catalysts for a strong response, especially after narrowly missing out on his first World Athletics Championship final.
“The year 2021 was really a down year for me. I came into 2022 with the mindset that anything is possible with God and I think that I delivered that really well. I came out in 2022 with a little niggle but it wasn’t as serious as in 2021. So I felt like it was just more seriousness of the work that I have been putting in and I feel like I executed well,” Broadbell said.
“Anyone would be disappointed to miss the final. For the rest of the year, coach and I sat down and said there were things that we need to work on and certain aspects of the races that we needed to ensure that we got correctly, and I think that’s what we did in the second half of the year.”
His exploits, especially against Holloway, specifically that 12.99 in Lausanne last August and the celebrations afterwards was not because he picked Holloway’s pocket for the second time, but more at the realisation that everything that he envisioned was manifesting right before his eyes.
“It wasn’t really about bragging or showboating. It was about personal goals that I have set for myself for the year and I saw it starting to fall into place. I felt like I was working hard for it. So when I saw the time it was just a lot of emotions coming out,” Broadbell explained.
With the focus this season, Broadbell feels that there is even more to expect and look forward to.