Dwyer targets sub-20 at Trials

Having dipped below the 20-second mark almost seven years ago, reigning national 200m champion Rasheed Dwyer says he is determined to break this drought when he takes the track at the National Senior Championships (Trials) this weekend.

Dwyer, who is conditioned by Maurice Wilson at the Sprintec Track Club in St Catherine, ran a personal best time of 19.80 in the semi-finals of the 200m at the Pan American Games in 2015 before returning to clock 19.90 for the silver medal.

Dwyer, now 33, has only run two 200m races this year after a number of injuries, and holds a season's best time of 20.65.

He says that he has been preparing himself mentally and physically for the championships.

"I want to go below the 20-seconds barrier this year, hopefully, because I have been putting in a lot of training throughout the background season and hopefully it will come together when it should," Dwyer said. "Every year, I have been very close to it. I have run like 20.1, so it is full time for me to go beyond the 20 seconds, but I am not putting any pressure on myself, but that is definitely the objective this year."

Dwyer's season's best time of 20.65 makes him the joint fourth-fastest Jamaican in the world this year, with Nigel Ellis leading that list with a time of 20.43.

Dwyer says that the 200m field at Trials is going to be competitive, but he is confident that he will finish in the top three and secure his place on the team to Eugene, Oregon.

"I want to make the team and go to the World Championships and make the final and to be on the podium," he said. "However, it is going to be really hard because the competition in the world is considerably high.

"I have been getting myself mentally prepared because the work has already been put in throughout the season. So it is more mental right now. Once I go out there and I am not injured, then I definitely have a shot at the podium at the Trials."