London, Aug 1 (IANS/CMC) Olympic silver medallist runner Kerron Stewart has been nowhere close to her best for the last two years but the determined Jamaican says she will not let that discourage her from going for gold when the track and field segment opens at the London Games later this week.
Stewart, who along with compatriot Sherone Simpson tied for silver in Beijing in the 100m, ran her fastest ever time of 10.75 seconds a year later at the Golden Gala in Rome, and equalled the time less than a month later for silver at the World Championships in Berlin, CMC reports.
Since then, however, she recorded 10.96 as her best mark in 2010 and 10.87 followed by a sixth place finish at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011. She has a 2012 season best of 10.94 done at the Jamaican trials.
Stewart said the last two seasons had been very difficult and admitted she was not 100 per cent fit.
“It’s just been a rough two years,” said the 28-year-old.
“I just think everybody has those years and I think I am facing mine now. I think I still have to give God thanks. I have achieved a lot and there are still more for me to achieve, so I am not discouraged.”
Stewart was also good enough four years ago to cop bronze in the 200m but will only be running the 100m here, as it was the only event she qualified for coming out of the Jamaica trials.
Going into this weekend’s 100m contest, Stewart said she was at ease and was under no pressure to conjure up her fireworks of previous years.
“I am just trying to stay focus and go out there and do what I know to do,” she noted.
“No I am not under any pressure. I don’t tend to listen to critics or listen to what people have to say, or think about what I have done four years ago.”
“I am just trying to focus on where I am now and what I am going out there to do and I am going out there to win just like anybody else want to win, but I am not putting any pressure on myself as to what I want to do.”
“That is what I expect of myself, I expect to go out there and give a 110 per cent and put on a good show for myself and for my country and I don’t think anything else is better than that,” added Stewart, who was a part of Jamaica’s winning 4x100m relay team at the 2009 Berlin World Championships.
Stewart, defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown, will carry Jamaica’s flag in the women’s 100m.
–IANS/CMC
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