'GONZ' SEEING BRIGHTER DAYS AS HE CLOSES IN ON NATIONAL RECORD

When Jeremy Wariner won the 400-metre sprint at the Paris Diamond League meet last Friday, he set a world leading 44.49 seconds. The time was also equal to Jamaica’s national record that was set by Roxbert Martin 12 years ago. It’s a record that not many Jamaicans have gone close to since then, save for Ricardo Chambers who clocked 44.62 in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007.
Jermaine Gonzales had shown promise from early in his career as an athlete that he was capable of running fast 400-metre races but injury to both hamstrings reduced him to watching from the sidelines since that day in 2006 when he clocked a smart 44.85s in Rome.
2010 though has been a breakout year for Gonz as he is called by his friends. The year before was the first time he was running injury free for several seasons but his times were not impressive as he tried to make it through the season and remain healthy, something that had eluded him for four long seasons.
He had become so disillusioned that he had even begun to consider other events. Some pundits suggested he take up the 800 metres, some the 400 metre hurdles. Gonz has admitted that he gave much thought to the 400 metre hurdles as an option, just so he could resume his career that really had not got off the ground even though he copped a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2006. That was the last year he competed for the better part of any season since his high school days when injury threw him down during a marquee match-up with his friend and training partner Usain Bolt at the Boys and Girls Championships on a rainy afternoon just under a decade ago.
Early in the season Gonz produced from mediocre times over the distance further cementing in people’s minds that perhaps we were never again going to see anything great from Jermaine Gonzales. That was until May 1, when he produced his fastest time in years, a 45.22 while finishing second to Tyson Gay at the Jamaica Invitational. Gay had run an astonishing 44.89s a couple weeks before in Florida but Gonzales closed on the the speedy Gay with every stride and just failed to catch up at the line.
That performance obviously gave the lanky runner a lot of confidence going forward because each time he stepped on the track after that he went faster and faster. He lauded his coach Bert Cameron for pushing him, motivating him. Cameron’s work was definitely paying off.
Next was a stop in Morocco when Gonz dropped his time to 45.06 at a meet in Rabat on June 6. He said that that his aim was to break the 45-second barrier and so he did. After almost being decapitated by a television camera in Rome and didnt finish, G0nzales showed up at small meet in Sotteville, France and dropped his time to 44.79s, a personal best for a win over the much respected American Angelo Taylor, who ran a fast 44.74s to finish second to Wariner (44.73) at the meet in Rome. That was on June 12.
On July 8, in Lausanne, Gonzales finished third, again behind Wariner in a new personal best 44.72s. And just this past Friday in Paris 44.63s another personal best while coming second to Wariner whom he pushed to the world leading time.
In just about three weeks in three races, Gonzales has produced three personal bests and looks set to go even faster by the time the season ends. He now ranks as the third fastest 400metre runner in the world for 2010 with only Greg Nixon’s 44.61s and Wariner’s 44.51s and 44.49s faster.
Gonzales finished a stride and a half behind Wariner last Friday, it should give him great perspective on how close he is to breaking Martin’s national record and how close he is to being a contender for a medal in Daegu, South Korea come 2011.
All Jamaica prays he remains healthy.

Gonzales sets three personal bests in last three races