World-class Bryan ready to face the bar again
Published:Wednesday | April 27, 2022 | 12:07 AMHubert Lawrence/Gleaner Writer
UNDER NORMAL circumstances, three misses in the high jump would be a disaster. At Saturday’s Velocity Fest on April 23, the result heralded the return to competition of Christoff Bryan, who, at 26, still oozes world-class potential. Now based in Jamaica, Bryan has patiently fought his way past knee surgery and is putting his career back together, day by day.
His nerves jangled as his turn to jump came along.
“I just wanted to get the jitters out, experience competition again. I won’t even lie. I was a bit nervous at first because, you know, the first time coming back at home in what? … I haven’t jumped here since 2016, so that’s a long, long time. I just wanted to get the feeling back, get the jitters out and experience the nice air, the track, everything,” said the tall Jamaican as he watched Lushane Wilson clear 2.21 metres for the win.
Bryan was a star at Wolmer’s Boys’ School when he soared to a World Under-18 Championship bronze in 2013 and fourth place in the 2014 World Under-20 Championships. Those results, and domination of his event at Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, earned him a scholarship to Kansas State University, for whom he won the 2017 NCAA outdoor title. He finished his college eligibility at Florida State, but after flying as high as 2.28 indoors in 2015, and 2.25 indoors and out in 2016, Bryan jumped sparingly thereafter.
His attempts at the Velocity Fest put him face to face with a high jump bar in competition for the first time in almost two years.
TRYING TO GET STRONGER
“It was good, because I haven’t been able to train the way I want to. We’re still trying to get the knee stronger. We’re still trying to get stronger overall,” said the 26-year-old champion, who became a member of the MVP Track Club in January.
“It’s a bit sore, to be honest with you,” he said about his knee, “but it is what it is. It was up to me if I wanted to jump or not. I know I was coming here with some soreness, but I just wanted to get the first one out of the way.”
The parallels with Jamaica’s best high jumper are inevitable. Like Bryan, the late Germaine Mason was a Wolmerian and the 2008 Olympic silver medallist was coached by MVP maestro Stephen Francis. Mason won the 2003 Pan Am Games gold medal, and bronze for Jamaica at the 2004 World Indoor Championships, before representing Great Britain in 2008.
Bryan’s outlook is a combination of patience and optimism. “Training has been going well. This was the first time really actually jumping from full approach,” he explained, in reference to the use of shorter run-ups in practice.
For Christoff Bryan at the Velocity Fest, the victory was simply in competing again.
“I’m just glad to get the first one out the way,” he concluded.