LONDON—“It was about to be the best race I’ve ever run,” recalled J’Maal Alexander, the territory’s male representative at the London 2012 Olympic Games that wrapped up on Sunday night with a spectacular ceremony, during which the baton was passed to Rio 2016. “But, at 70m, I felt my hamstring pull. I had to slow down but managed to come fourth in the race.”
As an unqualified athlete, Alexander was competing in the preliminary rounds of the 100m seeking a chance to get into the first round. The first two finishers got the privilege to run with Usain Bolt and the top qualifies who had a bye.
He felt he could have won his heat as he had one of the best starts of his life. “Once I get out with them, they can’t go leave me because that’s the type of runner I am,” he noted. “I knew within me, I could have won the race. But then I felt my hamstring….”
Alexander and his coach Winston Potter, focused on improving his start during the pre games camp and he got the start that he always wanted he said. “Then the unexpected happened,” he reflected before getting treated from team chiropractor Dr. Angela Salcedo, six days after as his leg was still tender. “First, I was mostly thinking of the pain. It was like ‘oh my God,’ and when the race finished, I couldn’t believed I’d just pulled up—its something an athlete never looks for during a race. This was the first time it happened and it happened on the biggest day. I just couldn’t believe that.”
Alexander finished fourth in 10.92 seconds and said he was satisfied after the ordeal. He noted people were running slower than his time injury free. “I pulled up and still beat other guys in the race,” he noted.
What did he think of the men’s 100m final? “The energy of the crowd and actually being there, I was sitting there thinking that hopefully, in the coming years, I might be there,” he said. “It was one of those can’t believe moments. There were many who wanted to be in a certain position to see this race and with me being here, getting this experience, it’s something that you’ll go home, work hard to be in that race and feeling the energy too.”
Alexander said he couldn’t believe how fast the final was. “When I saw Bolt coming down and he dipped, I was like ‘oh my God, this man is unstoppable, because in my mind, I had Yohan Blake to win to be honest,” he admitted. “When I saw Bold in the semifinal, I sat there thinking this man is putting on a show for the world making it look like he isn’t ready to run. When I saw him coming down I couldn’t believe he had won. “
The territory’s Jr. 100/200m National Record holder said he’ll return home, become more serious and be a leader sharing his experience with other athletes so they can work hard and join him possibly in Rio 2016 and ensure the BVI had a bigger team.
The Olympic Games experience he said has definitely changed him to become a better athlete. He said seeing that his counterparts are bigger and stronger, he has to return home, get stronger, train harder and change a few things in order to get on that level. “You see how these guys look and it makes me get more serious, to change and to become a leader,” he pointed out. “I want everybody to follow in that same path, get stronger, hopefully get to the top represent the BVI so we’ll have bigger teams attending these events.”