Speed kills, warns coach Frater
Coach preaches importance of team practice; preparations for the 4x100m heats
Published:Saturday | September 20, 2025 | 12:10 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
Coach Michael Frater has warned that it is not the team with the fastest athletes that will necessarily win the men’s 4x100 metres but rather the team with the best cohesion built through practice as Jamaica prepares for the men’s 4x100m at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships.
“We have to realise that practice is the most important thing when running a sprint relay. The efficiency of the stick getting around the track is what is going to run fast times and win races,” Frater said during a team training session yesterday.
Frater was drawing on his years of experience as an athlete who competed on several of Jamaica’s best relay teams.
At the height of his career, Frater held a personal best of 9.88 seconds in the men’s 100m and left the sport with three global sprint relay gold medals – one at the Olympic Games and two at the World Championships.
Consistent practice
He said assembling the team of the fastest athletes alone will not guarantee victory but rather, consistent practice in team sessions.
“Without a doubt, and that’s what we need to understand, is that we do have to practise,” he caution.
“Foot speed alone is not going to win a sprint relay. It’s how fast you take the baton around the track.”
Frater pointed to teams like Japan and China, who have been able to post consistently fast times in the event despite lacking athletes who are able to run below the 10-second barrier.
He said through their quick exchanges on the track, they are able to close the gap on individual talents.
“Often, you have seen teams like Japan or China run 37.5, and they don’t have any guys that’s faster than maybe 10.1 or thereabout,” said Frater. “But the efficiency of the stick being carried around the track is what makes them run fast times in a relay.”
LOOKING GOOD
Frater said the team is looking good in their training sessions and has been able to hold several practice sessions together.
Having missed out on automatic qualification at the World Relays earlier this year, Jamaica had to depend on posting a fast enough time in the qualification window to book their spot at the World Championships as one of the next-best teams.
With this in mind, Frater said the first step will be to successfully navigate the heats before they can turn their attention to any potential medal contention.
“We’ve got a few practice sessions. We’ve had one camp in Italy this year where we competed at the London Diamond League, and we were able to qualify the team.
“Everybody is, for the most part, looking good,” he continued.
“The guys from the 100m have recovered, and we had some good sessions at practice. It’s just about going out there, especially for the heats, and getting the guys together and executing a good race.”
Jamaica’s relay pool will include world 100m champion Oblique Seville, silver medallist Kishane Thompson, Ackeem Blake, Ryeim Forde, Kadrion Goldson, and Rohan Watson.
The heats are set for tomorrow at at 6:25 a.m. Jamaica time, with the final due for the final day of competition at 7:20 a.m.