Racers pair motivates St Jago students ahead of Champs

Andre Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

They walked before their fellow St Jago faithful to loud cheers and expectant minds, and at the end of their well-received presentations, Racers Track Club duo Yohan Blake and Marvin Anderson appeared to have struck a resounding chord with the hundreds of students who crammed into the school's auditorium during The Gleaner Champs 100 tour yesterday.

Blake, the third-fastest Jamaican and the youngest sprinter to run below 10 seconds with a posting of 9.93 seconds, was extremely happy to be given the chance to return to the Spanish Town-based institution and many-times ISSA/ GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Championships victors, to speak to the students about the importance of remaining focused and working hard.

The former World Junior Championships relay gold medallist and 100m silver medallist encouraged the students to stay clear of negative influences and never give up on their dreams.

Said Blake, "It's really good to be given the chance to come back to my
alma mater
and speak to the students. This means a lot to me. It was important to me to encourage them not to allow peer pressure to lead them astray."

Anderson was also a big hit with the throng that had gathered inside the school's auditorium, and the Osaka World Championships relay silver medallist and 2007 Pan Am Games 200m silver medallist also had a few positive words for the St Jago massive.

"The important message was for the students, not necessarily athletes, but students in general, to set goals, and not just athletic goals but in other fields; work hard towards achieving it and knowing that athletics is not the only way but that there are other avenues through which success can be achieved," Anderson reasoned. "It's always a pleasure to come back to St Jago."