Prince will get his chance - Cameron
Published:Friday | July 15, 2022 | 12:10 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
EUGENE, Oregon:
The first senior team experience for quarter-miler Gregory Prince has been turbulent, to the disappointment of national 400 metres coach Bert Cameron.
However, Cameron says that an opportunity is still there for him to take part in the 2022 World Championships, which start today.
Prince secured a United States visa earlier in the week and was expected to arrive yesterday after it seemed that his first World Championships appearance was in doubt.
Although not pleased with the issues that led to his delayed arrival, Cameron says that there is still much that he can benefit from and has not ruled out him taking the field as part of the 4x400m relays.
“I am frustrated, but there is nothing that I can do. The young man is 19, (out of) high school. I know that this would be an opportunity for him, but all is not lost,” Cameron told The Gleaner. “A lot of us have come out of high school, come to track meets like this. We get to experience, we get to meet people, and we get to run.”
Prince was named into the relay pool for both the mixed and men’s 4x400m relays. With the mixed relays beginning today, Cameron confirmed that the short turnaround time would be too much for Prince and has ruled him out of that event.
Jamaica’s first opportunity for a medal will be on today’s opening day in the mixed relay. Jamaica claimed a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships when the event made its major championships debut.
However, Cameron says that they will assess his status to determine how best to involve him in the relay set-up.
“I don’t think we will have him running the mixed relays because that is too close. That is a chance that we cannot take. We are going to see how best to get him involved,” Cameron said.
“Right now we are concentrating on the mixed relays. We get that out of the way and then we move on to the 4x400m.”
Junelle Bromfield, Akeem Bloomfield, and Tiffany James-Rose are the athletes designated for the 4x400m mixed relay. The 4x400m relay pool includes Javon Francis and Roniesha McGregor, who were part of that silver medal quartet in 2019, along with James-Rose and Nathon Allen.