‘Broadbell will get faster before season ends’

Reynaldo Walcott, coach of Commonwealth Games 110 metres hurdles champion Rasheed Broadbell, says he is very pleased with the progress that his young athlete has made this year and he believes that he will run much faster before the season ends.

The 22-year-old Broadbell clocked a personal best and equalled a 32-year-old championship record to capture gold in the 110m hurdles at the Birmingham Games. He crossed the finish line in 13:08 seconds, equalling the record set by Colin Jackson of Wales at the Auckland Commonwealth Games in 1990.

“It is better late than never,” said Walcott. “He seems to be finding his best form at the end of the season. I wish it had come a little earlier, but I am grateful for the progress that he has been making,” he said.

“Some things do take experience, some things do take time and I think with him, the more he does it, the better he gets, and I am optimistic about his future,” Walcott said.

Walcott, who is the head coach at the Elite Performance Track Club, recently coached Jamaican star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to her fifth World 100m title in Eugene, Oregon.

The Elite Performance camp also includes 2019 World Championships 400m hurdles bronze medallist Rushell Clayton.

Walcott stated that based on Broadbell’s progress and execution this year, he expects him to run a lot faster before the end of the season.

“I think if Shelly is getting faster at 35 years old, then a 21- or 22-year-old should be getting faster too,” he said. “I definitely think he can go much faster because I hardly know of any 21- or 22-year-old who can’t improve, and that includes him.”

He underscored that Broadbell has worked very hard in training this season and, therefore, once he remains injury-free, then he is expecting great things from him.

“He was somewhat unfortunate when he ended last season hurt and those injuries have sort of played on his mind a whole lot, and so getting over those was like a big hurdle, but once he turns up to practice, he works hard,” Walcott said.

“He is a decent fellow and he is easy to deal with but the biggest struggle is keeping him healthy, but once he is healthy then he is ready to go,” he said.