Impressed but still concerned
Former Champs star Daniel England wants big performers to transition
Published:Thursday | April 6, 2023 | 1:23 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
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FORMER CALABAR High School 200- and 400-metre athlete, Daniel England, who wreaked havoc at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships from 1987 to 1990, said the 2023 staging of the event brought back fond memories for him. “...
FORMER CALABAR High School 200- and 400-metre athlete, Daniel England, who wreaked havoc at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships from 1987 to 1990, said the 2023 staging of the event brought back fond memories for him.
“This has been a championship filled with record-breaking performances, and has been consistent with the championships that we’re used to. It’s the same good old Champs,” said England.
England, who now resides in the United States, returns annually for Champs and says the successful athletes benefit from the mental toughness the atmosphere creates.
“It was easy for me (to concentrate), as my strong point was the mental aspect. Once I’m in that zone and hit the track, I hear nothing and that’s what you refer to as having a tunnel vision,” he said, recalling his experience at the event.
While impressed with the performances of the male athletes at Champs, England is still concerned, given the low percentage of stars at the level who go on to dominate at the senior level.
“Before, with the boys, is that, once they make that transition to the senior level, it’s almost like they fall off. But, for now, they’re doing fairly well. It’s just the transition phase that I am concerned about,” he added.
England famously went undefeated at the championships until his final year in Class One, when he was bested by St Jago High School standout Donovan Powell, brother of sprint ace Asafa Powell.
England said his loss was in part because he had already had a scholarship to attend university in the United States and didn’t train as well as he had done in previous years.
“Back then, I knew I had already gotten a scholarship to Central Arizona University. So my efforts and preparations for my last year wasn’t the best because I already knew that I was leaving anyway. Also, my coach didn’t execute like how we did in the previous years,” he stated.
Like other track and field aficionados, England believes the performance of the championships goes to Bouwahjgie Nkrumie and Alana Reid for their fantastic times in boys’ and girls’ 100 metres.
“The all-round performances were great; the girls and boys did great as you could see with the record-breaking performances in the Class One 100m finals. Those really took the cake. Overall, the championships were consistent with the typical high level of performances, and I was happy to be here and witness the talents that the athletes in Jamaica have.”