Morant Bay decathlete shines at Champs
Published:Tuesday | March 22, 2016 | 12:33 PM
MORANT BAY, St Thomas:
Medalling at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys' and Girls' Championships is a big deal, and Marcus Brown of the Morant Bay High School in St Thomas ran, hurdled and jumped away with the gold.
The resident of the Seaforth community who last week clocked top place in the decathlon told Rural Xpress that he has always been interested in track and field.
multiple events
"I was brought into the school by Mr Bryan (former coach), who saw that I had talent when I was attending primary school, and that's where I started training at the high school level. At first, I was interested in the 100 and the 200 metres, but became a decathlon athlete after attending the Central American Age Group Championship in which I participated in multiple events and did well.
When Mr Bryan was leaving, he told the new coach to place me in the decathlon event at Champs last year," he said.
It was Brown's first time participating in the 10, discipline event, but that did not affect his ability to shine.
He said he brought home a bronze medal, and "after that it (decathlon) became my thing".
And though the 18-year-old athlete admits that the training process leading up to the championships was harsh, his gold medal testifies to hard work that paid off.
"Sometimes I had to skip extra classes to get in some training and sometimes after-training, I can't take up my book when I go home, and on some Sundays, I can't go to church because I am tired and I have to rest for school again on Mondays, but I feel great knowing that I was able to repeat what I had trained for at the boys and girls' championship, and not just that, I am also happy that it gave me the gold medal," Brown said.
The multi-talented teen told Rural Xpress that he hopes to become a professional athlete and represent his country like his inspiration, Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world, who he wants to meet one day. The gold medallist also hopes to pursue a career as a computer science teacher.
accomplishments
Feeling proud of his accomplishments, he was pleased to say that his mother keeps him motivated.
"She motivates me by telling me that I am the best and that I am the head and not the tail. She tells me a lot of positive things and when she's not there, I motivate myself by thinking back on all the positive things she tells me," he said as he smiled.