André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter
LILLE, France:
The IAAF World Youth Championships will go down as the world’s introduction to new Jamaican sprinting sensation Odail Todd, after his double-medal performance - a gold medal in the marquee 100m, backed up by silver in the 200m.
Todd, the CARIFTA 200m Under-20 silver medallist, was initially selected to compete in the 200m, but had to add the 100m to his assignments after Jahzeel Murphy was forced to pull out of the championships due to injury.
The ‘back-up’ man was given an inch, but he certainly made the most of the opportunity, running a lifetime best 10.51 seconds on his way to the 100m top prize; and then another personal best 21 seconds flat in the 200m to cop the silver medal.
Todd, however, is not surprised by his performance, pointing to years of hard work finally reaping harvest.
“To be honest I’m not really surprised at how well I have been able to do at this championship. I spent a lot of time preparing for this so I came here knowing that everything was possible and knowing that I had the ability to do really well,” Todd said, before pointing out his belief that this shows that his future is indeed a positive one.
“This sets me up well for the future, and I know that there are great things to come next year, especially with the World Juniors coming up,” said Todd, a student at Hanover’s Green Island High School.
“I achieved what I came here to achieve so I thank God for that; I really can’t thank him enough. I’m happy that everything worked out to plan and that I ended this championship healthy,” Todd added.
Despite running three rounds of 100m, two rounds of 200m and the medley relay preliminary round before his 200m final yesterday, Todd was not convinced that he lost the gold medal due to fatigue.
“Maybe it played a part and maybe it didn’t, but I’m fit and I’m healthy plus I ran a personal record, so I really can’t complain too much,” said Todd of his 21-second run.
Todd was also the subject of controversy after the semi-final, as officials cautioned him for what they deemed as him delaying the start of the race. The youngster, however, remained calm and said that the incident did not affect him going into the final.
“My coaches told me to just go out there and do what they know I can do and not worry about the starters, so it wasn’t on my mind at all actually,” said Todd.