Tonique ponders life after track

A BIT CONFUSING :confused: , BUT ANYWAY…

By DENEZ JONES, NG Sports Reporter

denez@nasguard.com

At the age of 30, Tonique Williams-Darling is already a 15-year veteran in the sport of athletics, and is having thoughts of starting a family soon. However, family life for Williams-Darling and her husband Dennis will have to wait until after the Pan American Games, the Senior Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships next year, and also the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

“I don’t feel like I am declining, in terms of my ability. I feel like right now, I am probably still peaking, and still able to give world class performances, but you know… it’s not really the age thing, I think what it has more to do with is the longevity thing, and how long I have been in the sport. I have been running since I was 15, and training hard since I was about 15, and so, whenever I start to think about how long I’ve been in this; I think athletes realize that there are other things that they want to do. Well, you know… I want to start a family and I want to be a little bit more at home, and stuff like that,” Darling said during a phone conversation yesterday.

Darling was answering the question of whether or not she would consider retiring from competition after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. She was also asked if maybe this year was an indication that the younger athletes were starting to catch up to her. According to the St. John’s College graduate, bad scheduling was the main factor in her drop from the number one spot to number seven in the world. In order for a track athlete to stay competitive at a world class level, their training isn’t the only factor in their performance. Choosing the right meets at the right time also plays a role in how well someone performs on the track. An athlete doesn’t want to peak too soon, or too late. Darling admitted though, that it was a small combination of things outside of track and field, like having to deal with the responsibilities of her newly acquired celebrity status, that posed a few challenges.

“I’ve had a lot of things going on outside of track and field, but at the same time there were some things going on in terms of scheduling, in terms of minor injuries, and that kind of stuff,” Darling pointed out. “For instance, I did not plan on running indoors, and so when I started my training I started preparing to open up later. Well, that meant my schedule got changed, and I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. I think this was the first mistake,” she pointed out.

Darling also said that she had only planned to peak once during the outdoor season, so running indoors prolonged the year, which resulted in her “burning out” when she should’ve been peaking. Most track athletes don’t care to run fast times at the beginning of the outdoor season, that’s why you may see a few participating in events they normally wouldn’t. For instance, women’s 100 metre national record holder Chandra Strurrup competed in a few 400 metre events early last year to get that last bit of endurance work in. As the season progressed, she went back to her specialty, just in time for her body to re-adjust to the shorter distance.

“I think ideally, had I known that I was going to those indoor meets, that I should have planned for two peaks. I should have planned for a peak at the Commonwealth Games, and then another peak toward the end of the year, but, you know… sometimes you’re not just making decisions based on medals or placing. Sometimes you need to make a financial decision because, actually, this is our job. Even though I was not able to come out with the gold medal, I made a financial decision. Hey, it’s not a gold medal, but at least I made some money - so that was one of the things early-on that affected my season. The second thing is, I had prepared for certain meets, and I was not able to compete in those meets because I had some things going on. It was like when I wanted to come out, I couldn’t come out, and when I could come out, I decided not to come out. You know - it was just those kinds of things, and it played with my season,” Darling further explained.

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/sports/314771430992524.php

Tonique is satisfied with '06

By DENEZ JONES, NG Sports Reporter

denez@nasguard.com

To say that this was a ‘slow’ track and field season for Tonique Williams-Darling may not be entirely fair. Maybe, the country was spoiled by her Olympic and World Championship gold medals, not to mention her perfect Golden League season in 2004.

“I think um… Bahamians are used to me being associated with gold, and I think the important thing is to make people aware that it’s not going to be that way all the time,” said the native track and field star. “I was extremely lucky to hit gold twice, but that’s not the norm, that’s the exception,” she added. Visiting home with her mom Debbie Williams, before returning to Norfolk, Virginia for training, Darling spoke with The Nassau Guardian yesterday about her performance on the European pro circuit this season, and how she’s preparing for the upcoming one.

“I’ve been very successful this year though, in terms of being able to get my first medal at the Commonwealth Games and being a part of the World Cup relay. Those were two major goals for me, which I have accomplished. I think people, for the most part, are used to seeing me on top, but I think in the whole scope of things you have to realize what accomplishments I did make this year. I had some extremely fast times, and I made my own personal goals, so to me, my season was just as successful.”

A lot of people may not realize this , but two persons ranked higher than Darling on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rankings list this year have never beaten her. One of them is compatriot Christine Amertil (number five), the other is Amy Mbacké Thiam (number six) from Senegal. Currently, Darling is ranked seventh in the world in the women’s 400 metres, slipping from the number one spot two years ago, and the number two spot last year.

“A lot of that stuff has to do with what races you compete in,” Darling informed. “There were races that I was originally scheduled to compete in, but I wasn’t able to make them because I had injuries. All of my races, even though my times were fast, they were in what you’d call smaller meets among races, and you just don’t get as much points, because you get points on times, you get points on placing, and you get points on meets. In my opinion, this really should not make a difference. When you go to a Golden League meet, it’s the same eight people. You travel to a small meet next week, and it’s the same eight people.”

The only woman who consistently ran sub-50 races in the 400 metres this year is world number one female quarter-miler, American Sanya Richards. That’s an indication that the rest of the field hasn’t gotten that much better than Darling. For someone on the inside looking out, she emphasises that things are not as they appear on the surface.

“I’m encouraged because I did have a few things going on this year, and I know that I was still able to compete at a very high level, so just imagine when things are taken care of. I’ll be able to put my best foot forward for next year,” Darling said.