Michael Frater (JAM) (© Getty Images)
Bressanone/Brixen, ItalyThe IAAF World Youth Championships have nurtured many of today's contemporary athletics stars. Some, like Usain Bolt, went home with a gold medal hung around their necks, but certainly not all of them were stars of the show on their first appearance at a global championship.
Nevertheless, competing at the Championships was a formative experience for the likes of Jamaican internationals Michael Frater and Isa Phillips, both of whom have gone onwards and upwards in the senior ranks. The pair have matured into contention for a place on the podium at this summer's IAAF World Championships.
Atlantic crossing
Olympic 100m finalist Frater, who will also contest the 100m in Berlin along with Bolt and Asafa Powell, was part of the Jamaican team that made their way to the Polish city of Bydgoszcz in 1999, the very first edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships.
He wasn't selected to run an individual event on that occasion and had to be content with being part of the Jamaican 4x100m relay quartet.
“However, I'll never forget it, that was my first time across the Atlantic and it was my first international experience,” reflected Frater, with warm reminiscences while sheltering from the rain at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo last Friday.
“The team management told us to go there and have fun, and that would be my advice to anybody going to this year's Championships. We were young, we went to Poland with an open mind to experience a new culture and a new environment and I'd tell anybody, whether they are Jamaican or where ever they come from, to do the same if they are competing in Bressanone.
“My advice would always be: 'You're young so have some fun but make it a learning experience as well, learn from being where you are and what is happening around you.”
Decent exposure
“I was not running in either the 100m or 200m but that sort of international exposure at a young age helped me enormously, contributed to what I'm doing today, and it would be nice if more people had that opportunity,” added Frater.
“You just need to look at what Veronica Campbell did there, she made a breakthrough and almost everyone of the people on that team went on to do some good things. For me personally, competing in the World Youths gave me something to work on for the future, both on and off the track.”
Frater and his colleagues won the 4x100m in Bydgoszcz and two years later it was Phillips' turn to pull on the famous yellow and green Jamaican apparel in Hungary's second city Debrecen, albeit with not quite as much success.
“I guess like maybe all the rest of the team, that was my first trip to the continent of Europe. It was a great experience overall for me. It was an education, I got the experience I needed at that time, I got to see other athletes of my age on the world stage,” said Phillips, talking at the Madrid Grand Prix on Saturday after he had run 48.09 for the second fastest 400m Hurdles mark of the year.
“I didn't even make the 400m Hurdles final, qualifying from the semis was pretty tough, but I enjoyed being there and hearing the crowd; I enjoyed the travel, the mix of cultures and the wide variety of people I came into contact with and the fun and entertainment we all had.
“Some of the friendships I made there still last today. There was a very young Usain Bolt on the team, he was 14 at the time. Getting to know him there has actually had a direct benefit on my running.
“He's given me confidence to improve my flat speed. He's also shown to me and the public at large that big guys can sprint, I'm 6'5” like him and around 200 pounds. In fact, it was him that told me at the end of last season that I needed to improve my flat speed, and that's been one of the reasons I think I have moved forward this summer,” added Phillips.
Aside from his words of wisdom for future stars of the sport, Phillips also has the target of beating Winthrop Graham's long-standing Jamaican 400m Hurdles record of 47.60, which has stood since 1993.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
