Team coach Jeremy Bascom feels Aliyah Abrams has to bring out the warrior quality in her personality when she bids to reach the women’s 400 metres finals at the World Athletics Championships here in Eugene, Oregon.
Abrams will enter the semi-finals tomorrow as Guyana’s last hope for some measure of success, in a star-studded field as she aims to become the first local to make the last eight in the competition’s history.
“I know she is a fighter but she will have to change into a warrior, knowing that she will come up against the worlds best,” said Bascom following a workout with his charge yesterday.
Double Olympic champion Bahamas’s Shaunae Miller Uibo is a hot favorite in the event to add the world title to her growing list of accomplishments. Nevertheless, Bascom is confident Abrams will give her best and continue a string of good performances in the last 12 months.
“I think she can pull it off based on the (good) season she has been having so far,” he said adding that she will have to be at her competitive best and will need to block everything else out.
Bascom was referring to Abrams’ fifth place finish at the World Indoor Championships in. March which was followed by her national record breaking 51.17 seconds performance in April in Florida.
Abrams will face off with McPherson and Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek, the top two contenders in Heat Two tomorrow, a heat which also includes Puerto Rico’s Gabby Scott and Susanne Walli who she beat in the first round heats on Sunday.Bascom, a former national sprinter does not read too much into Abrams’ first round effort where she clocked 51.55s, well off her personal best, stating that she did just enough to qualify
for the semi-finals. “It’s all about utilizing minimal effort going through the rounds”.
Abrams qualified from the heat won by Miller-Uibo in windy conditions where America’s number 400m runner two Kendall Ellis was eliminated.
Following her participation here at the World Championships, Abrams will jet off to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England next week.
Meanwhile, Bascom explained that Emanuel Archibald was not entered in the men’s long jump at the World Championships due to the restriction of one wild card per athlete rule.
He was expected to double here after competing in the 100m.
The long jump was won by China’s Jinan Wang with an 8.36 metres leap,
in a surprise result. Archibald will also be in the Commonwealth team along with Abrams’ sister Jasmine who competed in the 100 meters.
Bascom, who happens to be Jasmine’ personal coach, says he expects her to do better in England after a disappointing display in the 100 metres here, not progressing from the first round heats.
The coach said her preparation was disrupted by a hamstring injury she sustained in training after breaking the 100 metres national record with a 11.07 run at the Trinidad and Tobago national championships in June.
Bascom also explained that his charge also had a toe problem due to use of new spikes just prior before her event on Saturday.
