Elton Tucker, Assistant Sports Editor
Veronica Campbell
The gleaner honour awards
Today, we feature the nominee for The 2007 Gleaner Honour Award in the category of Sports
Determined, a fighter, a great competitor are all terms which describe Jamaica's outstanding female sprinter Veronica Campbell.
Following a year in which she was hit by injury, Campbell returned in a blaze of glory in 2007 to win the 100 metres gold and 200 metres silver at the the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan. In addition, she ran a brilliant anchor leg as Jamaica also pocketed a silver in the women's 4x100m.
Her performance in Osaka made the Trelawny-born Campbell Jamaica's most outstanding athlete at the prestigious meet, and stamped her as, perhaps, the world's best all-round female sprinter.
A star on and off the track, Campbell also captured the hearts of many Jamaicans with her touching comments after the 100m victory. After getting home by a whisker in one of the closest finals in the history of the World Championships, Campbell dedicated her win to the victims of Hurricane Dean, which struck Jamaica on August 19.
"I know the hurricane did some damage and I just want to tell everybody to keep their heads up as there is always hope," was the sprint star's message from faraway Japan.
Campbell's 100m gold completed a fabulous personal four-timer for the 25-year-old. She has now won gold medals at every world level. It started with the World Youth 100m gold in 1999. The following year she became the first female athlete to complete the sprint double at the World Junior Championships. Four years later, she was Olympic champion in the 200m at the Athens Games.
A long way off
A tearful Veronica Campbell tries to force her way through the crowd of happy supporters who turned up at the Norman Manley International Airport to welcome her home after her outstanding performance at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. - Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
The Osaka World Championships and 100m gold had seemed a long way off when Campbell began 2006 in the shadow of compatriot Sherone Simpson.
Simpson won Commonwealth Games gold in the 200m in March, relegating Campbell to second and followed that up with another win over the 2004 Olympic champion in the Jamaica International Invitational meet in May.
Even after losing to Simpson twice in a matter of months, Campbell maintained her self belief. Rather than giving excuses for the defeats, she was willing to look on the brighter side. She had competed and ended her event injury-free.
A promising 2006 season was, to everyone's disappointment, cut short by injury. Campbell suffered a torn muscle in her thigh while competing in the 200m at the British Grand Prix in Gateshead, England on June 11. She fell to the ground 90 metres out and was later taken off the track in pain.
It meant the end of her season.
With her injuries behind her, Campbell had a great lead-up to the 2007 World Championships and was the world leader in the 100m going into the meet. In fact, Campbell arrived in Osaka with three of the top five times in the world for the distance. Her fastest was 10.89 at the National Championships on June 23. Prior to that she had clocked 10.91 in placing second to American Torri Edwards on May 20 in Carson, California. Less than two weeks later, Campbell turned the tables on Edwards. She relegated the American to second in taking the 100m in 10.93 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York.
The former Vere Technical High standout thus landed in Japan as one of the firm favourites for the women's 100m gold.
In an interview published in The Star on September 22, the very confident Campbell said victory was always on her mind in the lead up to Osaka.
"I know what I went to the World Championships to accomplish and that was to win. So I stayed focused, stayed positive, stayed confident," Campbell said.
Despite her confidence, Campbell did concede in Osaka that the wait for the final result in the 100m was one of the "longest few moments" she had ever experienced.
So close was the finish, that it took the judges several minutes to decide the top three. Edwards was first flashed up as the gold medallist but this was quickly taken down. Then the name of Williams went up and finally Campbell. It brought a big smile to her face.
So happy to win
"I wasn't sure with the names going back and forth, but I am so happy to win," she said.
With the 100 metres out of the way, Campbell began her hunt for the 200 metres gold two days later. Her main rival was American Allyson Felix, the woman she defeated to win Olympic gold in 2004.
She admitted to being a bit jaded after the rigours of the 100m but, as always, was determined to give it her best shot.
Campbell won her first and second round races, but lost in the semi-finals and final to Felix.
Her 22.34 seconds run for silver in the final was Campbell's fastest time since winning gold in the 200m in a personal best 22.05 in Athens three years ago.
It took a very great run by Felix to deny her. The American clocked a personal best, world-leading 21.81 for gold. The time was the fastest in the world for over eight years.
Campbell had much to be proud of, following a championships where she became the only Jamaican to win gold medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships.
Grateful
"I have achieved a lot at these championships and I have got to be grateful. I think I did all I could (in the 200m)," she said.
Her final medal at the meet came in the women's 4x100m where, after getting the baton well behind on the last leg, she produced a brilliant run that just failed to peg back the American anchor leg runner Torri Edwards. The Americans clocked a world-leading 41.98 with Jamaica a step behind in 42.01. The silver medal winning time was the fastest by a Jamaican women's sprint relay team since Campbell led them to that historic relay gold in Athens, three years ago.
Campbell still has one big occasion to look forward to this year. In early November she will marry fiancé and fellow Jamaican sprinter Omar Brown.
Brown, the 2006 Commonwealth Games 200m champion, failed to qualify for the 2007 World Championships, but can take some of the credit for Campbell's top display in Osaka.
Brown who, like Campbell, is a former high school sprint star, travelled to Osaka as his future wife's personal coach.
Campbell's profile
| Born: | May 15, 1982 |
| Place of birth: | Trelawny, Jamaica |
| Schools: | Troy All-age, Vere Technical, Barton County Community College, University of Arkansas |
| Personal bests: | 100m - 10.85 (2005); 200m - 22.05 (2004). |
Career highlights 1999 | 1st 100m, 1st 4x100m - World Youth Championships |
| 2000 | 1st 100m, 1st 200m, 2nd 4x100m - World Junior Championships, 2nd 4x100m - Olympic Games. |
| 2002 | 2nd 100m, 2nd 4x100m - Commonwealth Games |
| 2004 | 3rd 100m, 1st 200m, 1st 4x100m - Olympic Games |
| 2005 | 2nd 100m - World Championships |
| 2006 | 2nd 200m - Commonwealth Games |
| 2007 | 1st 100m, 2nd 200m, 2nd 4x100m - World Championships. |
