I’m excited about the season ahead – Russell
There will no doubt be a quiz question in the future as to who was the first Jamaican athlete to compete in Africa’s inaugural Diamond League meeting and the answer will be: Janieve Russell. Russell underpinned her sense of occasion by recording a personal best time of 54.16 seconds to win the 400m hurdles in Rabat, Morocco, yesterday. The great thing about Jamaica’s track and field set-up is that while the nation continues to claim medals, there is also a group of aspiring athletes who will be the next generation of medal winners, and the effervescent Russell could be among that number. A delighted Russell told The Gleaner: “It was an OK race. It was not executed as perfectly as my coach wanted me to, but it shows me that I am on the right track and the times are coming down. “I stumbled down the home straight and that threw me out a little bit. But there’s a lot more races to come and I’m excited about the season ahead.” Like most athletes, Russell has the Olympics on her mind and she is clear about her future ambitions. OLYMPIC TEAM “The first step on my ladder is to make the Olympic team. Secondly, I want to make all three rounds in Rio and then, thirdly, I want a medal! “It will be a strong team out in Brazil and I love the competition.” As for being a part of history, Russell enthused: “Morocco is a very special place. I’m proud to be here, as is my country and family. “The atmosphere and people are great. I feel very pleased about what Jamaica is doing in the sprints and sprint hurdles over the years. I’m just glad to be part of it all.”