Injury-free Smith buoyed by consistent training

INJURIES HAVE derailed the dreams of Jonielle Smith in the past, so she is grateful for the consistent run of training she is enjoying at present.

Smith, a 2019 World Championships 4x100 gold medal winner, is patiently approaching this season and the consistency is giving her guarded hope.

Two weeks away from her 28th birthday on the 30th, Smith was closing fast in her 60-metre heat at last Saturday’s Fuller/Anderson Development, held at the GC Foster College of Physical Education & Sport.

She finished third in 7.35 seconds, with Tina Clayton and Barbadian 400-metre star Sade Williams going one-two.

“Horrible start as always, but nevertheless we’re happy to finish healthy. First one in the books and we can only improve from here on out,” Smith assessed.

Training in 2023 was difficult but to date, 2024 is far better for the MVP Track Club sprinter.

“A lot, a lot better. Still have a little niggles here and there,” she admitted, “but we’re building on the consistency and with each run, we’ll continue to get better and just see where it goes from there,” she cautiously reported.

The hope is that improved fitness can elevate her, at least to her 2019 level. She came into that season after 4th-place finishes for Auburn University over 60 and 100 metres at the 2018 NCAA indoor and outdoor championships respectively. In that summer, she won the CAC gold and placed second at the NACAC Open.

Primed by the 2018 season, she blitzed a personal best 11.04 seconds to place third at the Jamaica National Championships. In Doha, Qatar, Smith clawed her way into the World Championships final, finishing 6th in 11.06 seconds. The accomplishment put her in good company, as only 11 other Jamaican women – Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, Nikole Mitchell, Aleen Bailey, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Sherone Simpson, Kerron Stewart, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Natasha Morrison, Elaine Thompson Herah, and Shericka Jackson – have made it to a World 100 final.

Later in Doha, Natalliah Whyte, 100 winner Fraser-Pryce, Smith and Shericka Jackson combined to win the 4x100.

Now the Paris Olympics are just over the horizon.

“As I said, we have consistency now compared to last year. It was a whole lot of stop and go, stop and go, so we have consistency this year. As always, it does take me a while to get going in competition, but the aim is to be healthy and just to be able to consistently practise and compete,” Smith explained.

Smith, a 2022 National Championships 100 finalist, is trying to take this campaign step by step.

Asked about her mindset for 2024, she replied, “Stay confident, take it day by day, not think about the end goal too much, but live in the present, the here and now, and I think that will make a lot of difference going forward.”