Raymond 'KC' Graham - file

The years 1998 through 2002 brought real definition and satisfaction to the career of Raymond Lloyd Graham, one of, if not the nation's best junior female track and field athletics coach.

Throughout that period, the man, better known as 'KC Graham', got serious recognition for the outstanding work he had long been doing to raise the standard of Jamaican runners.

None other than his peers voted Graham as Coach of the Year in 1998, when St. Jago won the third of four consecutive Girls' Champs titles under his tutelage.

"Why I felt so good was that it was done by all the coaches," noted Graham of that distinction.

Some of his charges included Melaine Walker, Keisha Downer, Peta-Gaye Dowdie, Michelle Burgher, Kenia Sinclair, Kerron Stewart, Althea Chambers, Jovanne Jarrett, Clora Williams, Aldrea Bliss, Corine Hinds and Daniele Browning - who led off the gold medal 4x100m team at the last Olympics - also went onto excel in national colours.

Excellent work

Graham did some excellent work with Walker, who competed at three World Juniors. She finished second at World Youth in the 200m, second at World Juniors in the 400m hurdles and third at World Juniors on the 4x100m team. She later won a 4x100 gold at the World Juniors, and in her final year as a schoolgirl finished fourth at the Common-wealth Games in Manchester, England, in the 400m hurdles. While at St. Jago, she also beat the accomplished Deon Hemmings, an Olympic Games gold medallist, in 1998 in Barbados. Walker's 400m hurdles national junior record (55.51 seconds) was only broken this year by the outstanding Kaliese Spencer - 55.52.

Some of these same lassies played a big role in Graham also earning another award for his works with junior athletes, at the Penn Relays, for his outstanding contribution to the famous U.S. meet where his Camperdown team won the Championship of Americas 4x100 metres three times, and later the 4x100 and 4x400m titles at St. Jago. He was presented with that prize - a gold watch and a souvenir Penn Relays baton - in 2002 and there was nothing comical about it too, even though it was delivered by none other than the great comedy king Bill Cosby.

Prior to that, in 2000 Graham earned the Carreras Award for his contribution to track and field.

In that same year, Graham, who is also a freelance journalist for The Gleaner, scored a most notable first - an élite distinction as he gained a debut and 'dream' Olympics coaching spot for the Sydney Games.

"It's a sportsman's dream or a coach's to compete at the highest level. The first one was something special, I didn't expect to reach there so quick. I was one of the youngest coaches at the 2000 Olympics," Graham recalls. "And going to a country where people have a real passion for sports, people take it seriously."

Born on January 26, 1958, 'KC' has been to another Olympics as coach, at its birthplace in Athens, Greece, describing that experience as being "really something special because that was where it all began."

Five World Championships

A total of five World Championships, one as head coach of the women's team, also lists among his main achievements. Others include the Commonwealth Games, three World Junior Championships, the World Juniors as head coach (female team) twice, three junior Pan-Am Championships and two Carifta Games. Naturally, he got his nickname because he attended Kingston College (KC). But as he readily admits, those who knew him then find his track and field accomplishments surprising because at school he was a big pace bowler who opened the attack in the Colts competition, playing with the likes of Mark Neita, Nigel Pagon and former national ballers Dr. Carl 'Bunny' Grant and Douglas 'Dougie' Bell, the captain of the team.

Even then, he never used to miss Champs and started developing his skills as a trainer at Mico Practising College, where he actually got his nickname for wearing his KC tie at the tertiary-level institution.

Graham firmed up that training at G.C. Foster College of Physical Education where he attained a bachelor of arts degree, and did specific track and field athletics courses twice in Puerto Rico for Level Two and Level Three IAAF certificates, as well as in Brazil where he did a 10-day course.

He enrolled as a P.E. teacher at St. Catherine High School initially, then moved on to Camperdown in a couple of years. It was at the Camperdown Road institution that 'KC' really started to establish himself, when in 1995 "Lancelot Livingston said he wanted a coach for the track team. The first year I coached them they finished fifth at Champs and got the Most Improved School," admits Graham.

In '86 and '87 they did just as well with stars such as Revoli Campbell, Andrea Lloyd, Maxine and Marlene Dawkins and Sandra Kidd.

Graham also benefitted from the presence of Camperdown High boys' team and national sprint coach Glen Mills, and remained a most noteworthy 'understudy' before moving to St. Jago High, where he has remained for the past 15 years. He doubles as sportsmaster and coach of the girls' track teams, which continue to define his work and the institution with glorious performances.

- A. B.