media_artricles :: 2015

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Keshorn Walcott is determined to give a good account of himself at the August 22-30 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

On his Worlds debut, two years ago, Walcott fell well short of his lofty standards, throwing 78.78 metres for 18th spot in the men's javelin qualifying competition. The reigning Olympic champion did not advance to the final. It was that kind of year. Hampered by an injury to his left ankle, he bettered the 80-metre mark just twice in 2013.

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Heading into the 2015 Worlds, Walcott is driven to make up for his Moscow 2013 disappointment.

"This year I had it in the back of my mind, knowing that I did bad at the World Championships in Moscow. I want to try to get a better performance. Especially this being the year before the Olympics, I'm really trying to go out there and get in the mix with the World Championships."

Walcott, though, is battling another injury this season.

"Every year I keep getting injuries," the 22-year-old thrower tells the Express. "It's the javelin life. This year I got an ankle injury again, the same ankle from 2013 but different place."

Walcott shrugged off the discomfort to grab gold at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, last month. He landed the spear 83.27m.

"It was a kind of here and there decision for me to throw at the Pan Am Games because of my ankle, but now it's getting better. We're working on it still. We have about two weeks before the World Championships, Hopefully, it will be in a better state than it was for Pan Am.

"Physically I'm never 100 per cent," he continues. "I don't think most athletes are. But I always go in with my mind strong. I think that's a key factor in anything you go into. You have to believe in yourself, so I'm still believing I have a chance to go there and medal. That's what we're praying for."

On July 9, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Walcott made it absolutely clear he has what it takes to capture another global title. The Toco athlete produced a personal best 90.16m effort to strike gold at the Athletissima IAAF Diamond League meet, the monster throw earning him 14th spot on the all-time world list.

"It feels good knowing I accomplished something few people accomplished," says Walcott. "I knew I had the potential to throw far, but it was a surprise for me at that meet. I was not expecting any big distances because of how my training was going.

"The greatest ingredient was a relaxed mind. In that competition I was the most relaxed I had been for the entire season. I just went out there and it was flowing. And you can see it was a great result."

Walcott acknowledges that replicating such a performance in Beijing could be quite a challenge.

"It's going to be quite difficult to do that because it's different situations. It's about confidence in yourself, knowing I've already thrown 90 metres, knowing I can do it again. But going into any competition, you're trying not to think about the distance. You're trying to think about executing your technique and executing the throw, and I'm sure better distances will come.

"No matter what you do," the Pan Am Games champion continues, "you're going to have doubters. You throw 90 metres, they're going to ask why you couldn't throw 91 metres. For me, what I do is not for doubters. It's for me and my team and everybody else. Achieving these things, you're going to still have the doubters. It's just good to achieve what you set out to. I don't take them on."

Walcott's 90.16m national record throw puts him second on the 2015 global performance list, behind Kenya's Julius Yego (91.39m). Finnish throwers, Tero Pitkamaki (89.09m) and Antti Ruuskanen (88.98m) are third and fourth, respectively, while fifth spot is held by Czech Republic's reigning world champion Vitezslav Vesely (88.18m).

Walcott, Yego, Pitkamaki and Ruuskanen are all well positioned to challenge Vesely for his title.

"I don't have a particular distance in my mind," says Walcott, "but you see the level of competition in the javelin this year. A lot of guys are over 85 metres, a lot of guys are in the range of 88 metres. I know I'm going to have to throw a great distance to get into the medals...maybe over 86 metres to get into the top three."

If Walcott has the cooperation of his left ankle on August 26--the day of the IAAF World Championship men's javelin final--a trip to the podium could well be on the cards.

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