‘Guts and faith’ led Russell to Olympic qualification

Janieve Russell said it was a combination of 'guts and faith' which saw her securing her spot to the Paris Olympics in the women's 400-metre hurdles despite having a serious heel injury.

Russell was second best in the 400m hurdles final in one of her best performances in Jamaica, stopping the clock in 53.33 seconds behind national champion Rushell Clayton's 52.51.

Russell said it was a massive achievement to book her place in Paris against a strong field of competitors.

"It is the most satisfying team to make because the injury that I have is a really serious one compared to injuries that I've competed with before because I have a cracked bone in my heel. So to come out and run against a fine field of ladies I am really, really happy because I was lined up with medalists at World Championships, medalists at Commonwealth Games, NACAC, finalists at World Championships, so it's a really good feeling to be here and to be in the team to Paris," she said.

Russell stands as a highly decorated athlete for Jamaica. She is a former indoor relay champion, a three-time World silver medallist and two-time individual gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games.

She said this time around, it was her faith which led to her making her third Olympic team for Jamaica.

"It feels really great. I am three-time Olympian and it feels wonderful and I just want to give God thanks because trust me, my journey has been a rocky one, I am not 100 per cent so I went out there with guts and faith."

With her spot in the Games now secured, Russell said the focus for the rest of the season is to ensure she remains healthy and in competitive shape to perform on the global stage.

She draws confidence from her performances at the National Championships as proof she is on the right path to vie for a medal come August.

"I got good confidence knowing that this is the fastest I've ever ran in Jamaica," she said. "The first phase is now competed, punching that ticket to Paris and now the second phase is now to stay healthy to fight for a medal in Paris.

"This performance has shown me that I'm on the right track and I just need to keep pushing forward."