Nelson ready to give 100 per cent after getting call from JAAA

National sprinter Kemba Nelson says she is ready to give 100 per cent after she was added to the Paris Olympics women’s 4x100 metres pool on Thursday.

The team management in Paris was forced to bring in reinforcements after Shericka Jackson pulled out of the 100 metres earlier this week. Jackson, the World 200m champion, will only compete in the half lap event in Paris.

When The Gleaner contacted Nelson at her base in Spain yesterday, she said she was happy that she has been called into the full relay squad after she was earlier named an Alternate Person (AP) reserve by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) after finishing fifth in the 100m at the national championships. Nelson revealed that, after the team left for Paris without her, she had taken the Olympics off her agenda for the season and will now have to refocus.

“I checked out mentally, if I am being honest with you. I had my mind fully set on next year. I tried to avoid any and everything Olympics, and have everything on mute. But I know how to get back on my feet and my friends and family did that for me. So I would say, I am good now, maybe not 100 per cent but I am happy to show who I am and hopefully do better this time,” Nelson said.

She was a member of the Jamaica women’s 4x100m team which won silver at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.

The JAAA called her up on Thursday and she should be in the Olympic Games village by midday today.

“The Olympics are every four years and four years of hard work is no joke. Being able to represent at the Olympics is an athlete’s biggest accomplishment,” Nelson said.

Nelson finished fifth at the Jamaica National Championships and was listed as an AP for the 4x100m relay. Shericka Jackson won the event in 10.84 seconds, with Tia Clayton second in 10.90, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce third in 10.94, and Shashalee Forbes fourth in 11.04, while Nelson and Alana Reid were both timed in 11.14. Nelson was awarded fifth place and Reid sixth.

Last week, Sandra Campbell, Nelson’s mother, was a picture of disappointment but today she is over the moon.

“It was a heartbreaking thing for her but the family is so happy right now because they know how hard she works. We are behind her, the entire community of Mount Salem is cheering her on, everybody feels good for her,” Campbell said.

In the meantime, Andrew Henry, who coached Nelson at Mount Alvernia High School in Montego Bay, St James, believes Nelson should stay focused.

“Nothing happens before its time. I want her to keep her head up and don’t let what took place to discourage her. I just want her to be stronger because I know she is a fighter,” Henry told The Gleaner.