Megan Simmonds: Small in stature, big in heart

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

LILLE, France:

St Andrew High School livewire, Megan Simmonds, is desperate to make up for the disappointment suffered at last year's inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, where she finished fourth. The IAAF World Youth Championships provides the perfect opportunity to make amends.

Simmonds suffered heartbreak in Singapore after barely missing out on a medal, but she knows why that happened and, this time around, the pint-sized warrior is determined to make things right.

"I messed up because I focused too much on my competition, and so this time I am just determined to focus on myself and not pay any attention to my competition at all. In training, if I see a person that is hurdling, I take my eyes off them and just focus on my workout because I am determined to do it, I am determined to get on that medal podium," strong words from the strong-spirited and well-spoken Simmonds.

She enters the event as the ninth-ranked athlete in the event with a best of 13.65 seconds, just shy of the 13.62 seconds she posted in Singapore.

Extremely confident

Simmonds, a youngster of tremendous faith, shared that she is extremely happy with her preparation coming into the meet and is extremely confident of her chances. But what exactly is behind this heightened confidence?

"What's behind my confidence? The prayers. Prayers I have received and the prayers that I offered myself, that is the main thing behind my confidence. Plus, I have worked hard, so right about now I am fully confident about my abilities to do well for myself and for Jamaica, and to make my country proud in the 100-metre hurdles," Simmonds said.

"I am really, really happy about my preparation coming here. Last year in Singapore, before the final, I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, I did not put enough training in', so my confidence level was like 50 per cent, so I won't make that mistake again.

"I came back this year and worked harder with my coach, so preparation has been really good," said Simmonds, who trains under the watchful eyes of the team's head coach, Leacroft Bolt, who is also the head coach at St Andrew High.

It's ironic to think that Simmonds was among a few surprise absentees from the original list of athletes selected to represent the country at these championships.

"God is all powerful and his timing is the best, so when I found out that I wasn't selected I wasn't too down or anything, I just left it in his hands, his timing is perfect and he is the best," Simmonds shared. "Now when I found out that I was actually selected I was like, 'yes, God you are the best!'"

Small in stature but big on heart, Simmonds, desperate to make up for Youth Olympic Games disappointment in Singapore, may yet achieve greatness in Lille.