Ver gearing towards 'tip top shape for Olympics'

Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer

NEW YORK CITY,

United States:

Even at this stage of her career, on top of her game with stacks of medals and global titles piled next to her name, Veronica Campbell-Brown still leans heavily on confidence and caution. No outlandish predictions. No public declaration of superiority over rivals whose accomplishments pale next to hers.

In the delicately balanced world of sprinters, where a twitch in a leg or at the starting blocks can shatter years of gruelling preparation, Campbell-Brown knows reputation guarantees nothing - not a spot on Jamaica's team for track and field's premier event this year or place on the medal podium if you get that far - even for a multiple World and Olympic champion.

With that uncertainty in mind, she carries a wish list that at once reminds what can derail her on-track goals while fuelling the fire that has driven her success for over a decade.

"I'm hoping that I will be in tip-top shape for the Olympics," Campbell-Brown said laughing, a couple days before her scheduled indoor run today at the US Open Track and Field meet at Madison Square Gardens (MSG) here.

"I'm hoping that I will do everything right - execution. I hope that I will be mentally stronger than ever because I expect great competition, and I just hope that everything will just work according to plan and work for my good."

The main "plan" is to be ready for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. At stake for Campbell-Brown is a chance to stamp herself as possibly the greatest female sprinter of all time.

One more gold

To cement that, she'll have to fit one more gold among the two Olympic titles in the 200 metres (2004 and 2008), a 60 metres World Championship (2010), 100 and 200 metres crowns at the World Championships in Athletics (WCA 2007 and 2011, respectively), plus a slew of other medals which showed she was rarely out of contention. That possibility, even for a veteran turning 30 in May, is enough to stir up anticipation.

"I've never won the 100 metres at the Olympic Games and it would be nice to defend my 200 metres title," said Campbell-Brown.. "It will be an exciting year. I'm looking forward to it."

She isn't haunted by the absence of the Olympic 100 metres title.

"I'm not obsessed with winning the 100 metres per se," Campbell-Brown said. "My objective is to compete hard, compete at my best, and if my best is good enough to win the 100 metres and 200 metres (at the 2012 Olympics) then I will be grateful."

The US Open brought a new twist in her programme. Campbell-Brown, whose photo adorned a huge poster outside MSG promoting the meet, is down to contest the unfamiliar 50 metres. It's part of the plan to cover all the bases, especially sharpening her notoriously inconsistent start out of the blocks.

"I think it is a good thing to get a few indoor races and just continue as part of my preparation for the outdoor season," said Campbell-Brown, who won the 2011 Millrose Games 60 metres at MSG before securing silver in the 100 metres and gold in the 200 metres at the WCA later in the year.

"This (50 metres) race is all about execution," she added. "I've never run a 50 metres before, but I think it is the same thing like a 60 metres. You just have to get a good start and execute well, because it will be over quickly."

It seems ages ago that Campbell-Brown made her Olympic debut at the 2000 Games as an 18-year-old, winning a silver medal as part of Jamaica's 4x100 metres relay team.

She understands her window among sprint's elite is open now. There's no guarantee how long it will remain so. The wealth of talent in her events is overwhelming, including defending Olympic 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, and Carmelita Jeter, the American who beat her to win that event at WCA 2011, among the main contenders to stop her quest for the missing piece in her medal collection. But she's in no mood to pick a challenger from the dangerous pack of rivals.

"I can't just talk about one person," said Campbell-Brown, who failed to make Jamaica's 100 metres roster for the 2008 Olympics after finishing fourth at the trials. "There are so many other young ladies out there."

Last summer's WCA success gave Campbell-Brown a lift entering 2012. Winning Jamaica's 'Sportswoman of the Year' honour was another boost. But that's in the past. She prefers to stare straight down her own lane now. Anything outside is beyond her control.

"I'm focusing on me and what I have to do to prepare for the (Jamaica) trials and the Games," said Campbell-Brown, satisfied with her health and preparations so far. "And, as always, I respect all my competitors and I don't take anybody lightly."

Sounds like confidence and caution, two pillars Campbell-Brown has always leaned on.