Carmelita Jeter improves to 22.20 with a big win in Monaco (© Philippe Fitte)
Daegu, Korea - Carmelita Jeter and Sanya Richards-Ross both believe their coaches, often the forgotten figures in the track and field family, have laid firm foundations which will see them lift World titles when the IAAF World Championships action finally starts this weekend.
Jeter, coached by John Smith and Richards, guided by Clyde Hart, will be part of Team USA's challenge for a hatful of gold medals, the former in the 100m, 200m plus and 4x100m Relay and the latter over 400m and the 4x400m Relay.
The pair, having settled comfortably into the Athletes Village in Daegu, insist despite some rainy weather in the past week, their preparations have gone perfectly under the eagle eyes of their legendary advisors and will go to their respective start lines in mint condition.
Jeter, the 100m bronze medallist at the last two Championships, said: "I'm really excited about doubling. I've ran here every year they've had the Daegu Invitational. Everyone's always treated me well, I feel at home."
The world's second fastest ever woman (10.64sec) and world leader this season (10.70), makes no secret the inspirational advice she has received from Smith is a key factor which has seen her exceptional improvement since the Berlin Championships two years ago.
Jeter said: "He definitely changed the format of my race from my technique to my strength and how I approach each race. Just like coach Hart he's someone whose been around for a while with guys who have broken World records and won Olympics titles."
"As John Smith says, the best is yet to come. I keep everything going by listening and learning. I'm still a student of the sport. I pay attention, I don't know half the stuff he knows. He says to me do something and I try to execute it to the best of my ability."
"I'm still the student and he's definitely the teacher. I'll never think I'll know more than the teacher. If you have someone who believes in you, you believe in yourself."
The 29-year-old, refusing to predict how quickly she can run in Daegu, added: "I don't try to think of times. Say you say 'I want to run 10.6' and there's a winner in 10.58. You've got what you wanted but you definitely didn't win the race."
"So I want to execute like in Thessaloniki in 2009," recalling her victory at the last edition of the IAAF World Athletics Final. "I executed a phenomenal race and I ran 10.67. I didn't think I was going to go out to run that. I went out to win the race and it so happened I ran a fast time. I'm not thinking about times."
Jeter, after missing out on tackling a double at the last Championships, revealed: "In the final of the 100 I caught a cramp and I couldn't run so I've had to wait until 2011. I always believed I was going to be able to double. Sometimes when you're a sprinter it takes you time to wrap you're mind around the 200."
"Finally it took me until Monaco to really get my mind around running the 200," she said, referring to the venue where she lowered her lifetime best to 22.20 with her victory at the Samsung Diamond League meeting a month ago.
Jeter with a heavy schedule and also slated for the relay, admitted: "I definitely have dreamed of having a great World Championships. I hope that when I put this shirt on and I put this uniform on, I am definitely representing the USA to the best of my ability."
Richards-Ross: 'It was tough taking some whoppings but it definitely made me stronger and more humble'
Richards-Ross after missing the majority of last season has found it a long and mainly losing road to rekindle the form which saw her the most feared 400m runner in the world. Her comeback this season hasn't been easy with four defeats on the Samsung Diamond League circuit.
The last in Birmingham on 10 July saw her quickly pack her bags and return to Texas where Hart immediately put her into an intensive training programme which not surprisingly identified what needed to be fixed.
Richards-Ross, the defending champion, said: "In Birmingham I was really disappointed when I finished fourth so I went home and coach and I really tweaked a few things in training. He shook me up a bit."
The 26-year-old's technical problems ironed out, saw her return to European action and brilliantly win the Aviva London Grand Prix with the 41st sub-50sec victory of her career.
Richards-Ross, who clocked 49.66, the second fastest in the World this year, said: "I have a strong faith and I work really hard so I'm happy it happened before the World Championships. I'm just really excited I'm coming here with a sub 50 performance."
"I'm very fortunate to have a coach who has so much experience in the sport for so long and so he kept a level head and made me do the same. Coach Hart knew I was ticking like a time bomb but he didn't know when I was going to go off. So I just kept believing."
"He really helped me to never lose faith when I was out there. It was tough taking some whoppings but it definitely made me stronger and more humble."
Hyleas Fountain, Jillian Camarena-Williams and Kellie Wells also feel they could not have come to the Championships better prepared for the the medal chasing tasks ahead of them.
Fountain, the Beijing Olympic Heptathlon silver medallist but troubled by injury since that achievement, said: "I'm really stubborn about going to the doctors - you just don't want to hear bad news. This year I did go to the doctors and got an MRI on my neck. I have a little bit of arthritis. I can do some exercises to stabilise my neck and keep it in place when high jumping."
Wells, who will face a stellar 100, Hurdles field including Australia's Sally Pearson, said, "This is my first time in the National team and I'm so excited. Sally's an awesome competitor, all the females I've competed against are amazing athletes. But I'm not going to focus on Sally. I'm going to have to focus on Kellie and my intention in the hurdles is getting to the finish line and if I execute correctly, I will be unbeatable."
Shot putter Camarena-Williams who along with Michelle Carter believes she can push for a podium finish, said: "We've worked really hard and through the Diamond League had the chance to compete with the top girl all the time. That's really been a plus for us seeing these girls every week rather than just coming to the Championships and being in awe of them."
David Martin for the IAAF
