Like Gregory, Demario Prince hopes to have crowning moment at Champs
Published:Monday | March 27, 2023 | 12:38 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
To access this article in full please login or register today
St Jago High sprint hurdler Demario Prince will be the first to tell you that he is not related to Gregory Prince, last year’s Class One 400 metres-champion who signed off his high-school career in style. But like Gregory last year, Demario hopes...
St Jago High sprint hurdler Demario Prince will be the first to tell you that he is not related to Gregory Prince, last year’s Class One 400 metres-champion who signed off his high-school career in style.
But like Gregory last year, Demario hopes to reach sprinting royalty at this year’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, thanks to improved technique and learning from his World Under 20 Championships experience last year.
Prince enters Champs with the fastest time this season in the Class One 110m hurdles, 13.56 seconds, which he clocked at the Carifita Trials.
His last name would automatically garner assumptions of his being related to Gregory, something that he has experienced a lot this season. But he is appreciative not only for what his former schoolmate Gregory did on the track but how he galvanised the team during his time at St Jago, something he hopes he can emulate.
“They would always say ‘oh you’re the Prince’. And I would say ‘no I am the hurdles one,’ But he did a great job last year, and did many great things for St Jago and I know that he motivated most of the team,” Prince told The Gleaner. “So for me right now, I am focused on helping the team so we can have a great championships.”
His motivation for this year comes after a World Under 20 championship where he made the final, but did not finish the race after clipping a hurdle. But in the ashes of that disappointment, Prince said that it also taught him valuable lessons which he has used to improve his technique.
“I had motivation from last year coming from Cali, Colombia. My coach and I we have focused this year on proper execution and trying to get my start quicker, my hurdle clearance, and my rhythm between the hurdles. We have been focusing on that this year so that is what has made the difference,” Prince said.
Even with his not being able to finish the final, Prince still sees the experience as invaluable.
“It meant a lot for me to make my first World Under 20 Championships final. It gave me that boost coming in and competing locally. I’ll never forget that I competed in a World Championship final. I’ll always keep that in the back of my mind,” Prince said.
The versatile Prince who took second in the Class One high jump and third in the long jump last year, said that he has been boosted by the fact that he has had a relatively healthy season which he hopes will put him on track for a memorable Champs.
“I feel healthy, I feel great. I am going to the Championships with a lot fewer niggles than last year. That is a plus on my side. I just want to go out there and do my best in the events that I am competing in,” Prince said.