Grade A meet
Jessica Smith heads into the Harry Jerome with a goal of an ‘A’ standard, which would qualify her for the 2012 Olympics
For North Vancouver’s Jessica Smith, the good news at last weekend’s Prefontaine Classic was the two-minute, 00.61-second time she posted in a fifth-place finish in the women’s 800 metres.
It was a personal best. And being sub-2:01.30, it gave her one of the two ‘B’ standard times she thought she needed to earn a berth in the 2012 Olympics in London this summer.
But Melissa Bishop of Eganville, Ont., ran a 1:59.82 in the same race. That time met the ‘A’ standard of 1:59.90 and it moved the goalposts for Smith, who now finds herself needing to secure an A of her own before the end of the month to qualify for London.
International Association of Athletics Federations rules say that, if an athlete from one country gets an A, everyone from that country needs the A.
“It was a little bittersweet,” says the 22-year-old Smith, who’ll get a shot at the A today in the Harry Jerome International Track Classic at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium.
“The both of us were very excited and it was nice that we were able to celebrate together and now hopefully we’ll both be able to travel to London. That would be really cool.”
Besides the Jerome, Smith can chase the A at the Victoria International on June 13 and she’ll get another shot at the Olympic trials in Calgary June 27-30.
But that’s still not much time, especially if the weather continues to be cold and wet.
Brit Townsend, Smith’s coach at Simon Fraser University, would like to see Athletics Canada extend the deadline.
“We’re running out of time,” said Townsend. “There are only so many meets you can run in a short period of time or you end up hurting yourself.”
“It would make sense,” she said of an extention. “The reality is that only three women in Canadian history have run under two minutes. Canada has really good depth in the event now and we want our best athletes in London. Two [minutes] flat deserves to be there.
“I’d like to see them extend that deadline, give people a fair chance. We have our top series of races coming up and it’s cold and windy. It’s very difficult and you’re at a disadvantage with a lot of other countries, especially the U.S. where they have great opportunities to make these standards.”
“I think it’s slim but not impossible,” she said of the odds that Athletics Canada would change the deadline.
Canada can put three women in the 800 in London. Townsend thinks Smith can be one of them.
“She’s a great competitor and she has lots of potential in this event and I’d love to see her have this experience,” says Townsend.
A year ago, that would have seemed unlikely. Until the 2011 Jerome, Smith’s personal best was a 2:04. But she ran a brisk 2:01.50 on the Swangard track in the 2011 Jerome and her times have kept getting better and better.
Smith won a few days later in Victoria and then went to Europe last summer and won a pair of races in Belgium and England.
“That jump certainly helped my confidence a bit,” says Smith. “It showed me that the opportunity was there to run faster. I’ve been lucky enough to keep getting personal bests and keep lowering that number, but running the 2:01 this year has helped me think about what I have in me to hopefully take me to the London Olympics.
“It would be a great opportunity and wonderful experience. I’ll be very thrilled if I can get that standard at the Jerome.”
Townsend says Smith’s improvement has come because she’s taking care of the small details.
“She’s made amazing progress this year and part of it is her attitude,” Townsend says. “She’s focused and more motivated than ever.
“She’s doing the small things you need to do that make the big difference. Recovery [after races], nutrition — I think those things are really important. This year she’s been able to concentrate on the smaller things that make a difference.
“She has all the tools to be an outstanding 800-metre runner.”
Weather depending, Smith should have a good chance to make standard at the Jerome. The field will have a rabbit, a pacesetter who’ll be asked to run the first 400 metres in 0.57 seconds.
“I’ve raced there for many years and I feel comfortable on that track,” says Smith.
“I know that the field will be strong. They’re all really wanting to race to the best of their potential. I think everything is there for me to get the standard and now all I have to do is go out there and run it.”
Smith said last week that she wasn’t going to get caught up in weather reports or pleas to Athletics Canada.
“I really don’t think about things like that,” she said after a Thursday morning training session that was unseasonably cold and the wet. “You have the races you’re given and you have to make the most of them.
“You can’t have your thoughts on things you can’t control. You have to focus on the races that are there and have the women in them that will help you achieve those goals.”
And with the Prefontaine, the Oregon weather was less than ideal. There was no wind but there was plenty of drizzle.
“You have to race with whatever the day brings,” says Smith. “You can’t be watching the weather forecasters every day. The Prefontaine surprised us. We didn’t expect it to be drizzling rain down there, either, but we still ran fast.”
Hopefully there’ll be a repeat today.
“I’ve been lucky enough to keep getting personal bests and keep lowering that number, but running the 2:01 this year has helped me think about what I have in me to hopefully take me to the London Olympics. . . . I think everything is there for me to get the standard and now all I have to do is go out there and run it.”
— JESSICA SMITH