Frater eyes own track club

Former World Championship 100m silver medallist Michael Frater said that he is putting plans in place to start his own track and field club.

Frater, one of Jamaica's most successful sprinters, kicked off his coaching career recently when he was asked by 2011 world 100m champion Yohan Blake to be a part of his coaching staff. Frater has been tasked with improving Blake's start as well as assisting him with some of his technical deficiencies.

"Yes, it is something that I always wanted to do because I am a track fan and track and field is what I love, and so it just natural. I will eventually form a track club, and so that is all in the works, and it should be on stream very soon," Frater told STAR Sports. "You have to start somewhere, and so it is a plus for me to start with an athlete such as Yohan Blake, who is the second-fastest man of all time."

He underscored that since he began working with Blake over two months ago, he has seen remarkable improvements in the sprinter.

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"We have seen a difference, but it is not something that is going to come overnight," said Frater. "This year, hopefully, we can get some more local meets to work on things to get ready for next year.

"There are a lot of things that need to be worked on, but he (Blake) has been improving in the technical aspect so far," Frater said.

He added that he, along with coach Gregory Little, who is in charge of Blake's fitness and conditioning, are working to ensure that Blake returns to his best.

"He is not where he used to be, but I like a challenge and he definitely wants to get back to some semblance of himself of where he was and so I am going to try my best to get him to where he was," Frater said.

Blake is the second fastest man in history with personal best times of 9.69 seconds in the 100m and 19.26 in 200m. Only his fellow countryman and double sprint world record holder Usain Bolt, with times of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds has gone faster.

Blake opened his season with a 20.62 seconds clocking in the 200m at the Velocity Fest Meet at Jamaica College on July 18. He then returned to run 10.07 seconds in the men's 100m on July 25.

Frater underlined that Blake's preparations this season has been affected by the delayed start of competition, which was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore they are now concentrating on getting him ready for next season.

"The season has been up and down so far due to the COVID-19 and so training has been on and off so he is not where he is supposed to be," Frater said.