‘My best is yet to come’
Excelsior captain Najhada Seymoure expects to lead top-five push
Published:Thursday | February 20, 2025 | 12:07 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
CLASS ONE girls’ discus throw defending champion Najhada Seymoure is ready to lead the charge for Excelsior High as her team aims for a top-five spot in the girls’ standings at this year’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships.
Seymoure stands as the captain of the girls’ track and field team at the Mountain View Road-based school, a position she holds with pride.
Also serving as Excelsior’s deputy head girl, Seymoure says it is an honour to be regarded as a leader both on and off the field.
“I’d say it’s an honour because, to be known as the type of person that I am and to be here setting an example for my teammates and the younger ones coming up, it is definitely an honour to me,” she told Chasing Champs.
“Trust me, it is hard, but as long as you believe in yourself and believe that you can maintain the balance, then you’re going to be fine. But, believe me, it’s not easy to do.”
With her head coach Michael Vassell aiming for a top-five finish at Champs, as well as defending their Corporate Area title, Seymoure is ready to play her part both as a leader and as an athlete.
She had won gold last year at Champs with her effort of 49.23 metres in the girls’ Class 1 discus and is looking in championship-winning form this year.
She threw a season’s best 49.84 at the S.W. Isaac-Henry Invitational, sending a message to her competition.
The reigning champion has also said her best is yet to come this season.
“I have faith in my team and I think we can really go out there and get the top five and defend our corporate title,” she said. “I really do have faith in everybody so that’s the aim, that’s the goal, and that’s what we’re going to go out there and do.”
“Look out for me at Champs and representing the country. Just look for me because my best is yet to come. I will not state the distance or anything but, definitely, I want a place on the podium.”
Seymoure draws inspiration, not just from her role as a student leader, but from her experience as a junior national representative.
She wore the Jamaican colours for the first time last year, winning bronze at the Carifta Games, and, last August, represented Jamaica at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru.
She explained her first time representing Jamaica was a nervous-yet-fulfilling affair, and she is aiming to represent the island yet again.
“My first time, it was a little bit rough given that it was my first time. I was afraid. I know what I can do, but I was nervous. But, overall, it was a great opportunity and that first opportunity led to the next opportunities that came after that,” she recalled.
“It pushed me to become my better self and makes me want to get that and more.”