Kingston College’s Forbes pursues 400mh gold

Kingston College's (KC) Antonio Forbes is sending early signals that he is now ready to take the gold medal in his final year of participation at the five-day ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships (Champs), scheduled for the National Stadium, starting on March 19.

Forbes, for the past two seasons, settled for the bronze in the Class One boys' 400 metres hurdles. However, at the Youngster Goldsmith Classics last Saturday, he raced to an impressive 51.80 seconds and was delighted to win the event.

"I am very happy for the win and the time. Because of an early season injury, I was unable to prepare the way I wanted, and I was wary of what I would have done in my first hurdle race," Forbes said.

He noted that he got courage from the Queen's/Grace Jackson Invitational meet the previous week, when he recorded a personal best of 48.98 seconds in the flat 400 metres.

"Posting a personal best in coming second behind Jamaica College's (JC) Devonric Mack and third overall at the meet gave me a lot of confidence going into training the following week, and I decided then that I would give myself a little push in the hurdles at the following meet, although I didn't put any time on myself," he shared.

Forbes dismissed suggestions of being the top contender for the title at Champs.

"I do not think I am the favourite, because there are quality athletes out there. Having that favourite tag would only encourage me to be overconfident and possibly lose focus, so right now, I want to see what I can do," he said.

Forbes was edged out of the silver medal by Edwin Allen's Tyrece Hyman last year and is determined to end his Champs career on a high, while believing that he has the competition to push him to a fast time.

"I really want to upgrade my two bronze medals with a gold medal, and at Champs, I aim to go sub-50 seconds.

He is confident that KC can retain the Mortimer Geddes Trophy, despite the slow start to their season and former champions JC and Calabar showing exceptional early season form.

"We have started a bit slow this season, but don't leave us out. We are going to pick up when it matters most. You can all have doubts, but we will send the right message when it matters most and ensure we retain our title," Forbes said.