media_artricles :: 2014

Ahye wants 60m world record in 2015

Having etched her name among the world’s fastest female 100m sprinters for the 2014 season, national sprint queen Michelle Lee Ahye is intent on achieving similar successes for the coming competitive season, as she begins her quest for glory in the shorter 60m version.

Currently ranked at number two on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) women’s senior outdoor 100m list for her blistering 10.85 second showing at this year’s Sagicor/ NGC National Championships, Ahye hopes to put a bit more focus on the 60m in an effort to boost her overall athleticism just one year shy of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. On the 60m charts, the Carenage-built sprinter sits in at sixth position with her 7.10s time, tied alongside Americans Barbara Pierre and LaKya Brookins.

“My ultimate goal for the 2015 season to get close to the world record in the 60m and to be on the podium for the major competitions like World Championships. I have a lot of goals for 2015 but those two are the main ones,” she said.

“I’m still shocked that I’m ranked number two in the world for the 2014 season. That alone gives me life or the zeal every time I wake up and every time I step out on the track for practice. I work even harder, I don’t like being number two and I’m aiming for that number one spot,” added a pleased Ahye from her US base on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old also recently suffered a hamstring injury after capturing her first European sprint-double at the annual Spitzen Leichtathletik meet in Lucerne, Switzerland, on July 15. However, the slim-built athlete has fully recovered from this minor setback and now directed her competitive guns to the anticipated 2015 season.

“Right now I’m just training and getting stronger and I have fully recovered from my hamstring injury thanks to my coach, Eric Francis. Preparations (for the coming season) are hard but they are going really good,” she added.

According to Ahye, Francis and his managerial team have played instrumental roles in her recent successes and lauded the unit for injecting the extra motivation she needed to continue achieving on the track.

She concluded: “We (training group) all get along and push each other no matter what event they do. My coach and my agent invested a lot in me and believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. They never led me astray and always gave me words of encouragement. They have never left my side. Therefore, within that time, I grew to realise my potential. I have focussed more and have started to think like a professional athlete. I’m not in it for the fame or fortune. I’m in it because it’s something I love to do and it was something I grew up dreaming about.”

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