PB for Bennett in Eugene?

Three years after his first experience of senior World Championship 110 metres hurdling, Orlando Bennett is feeling good and approaching his best form. It's a wellness wave Bennett wants to ride into the 2022 World Championship final on July 17 in Eugene, Oregon.

At last month's National Championships, he missed his personal best (PB) by 0.01 of a second in third with a time of 13.28 and the indicators point to Bennett emerging from the Eugene heats on July 16.

"This has been one of the most competitive Trials in a while for me so it's a good experience, a good learning curve for me so I just have to go out there with a better mindset, better execution, better everything to just do my best and make sure that I get it done," he reasoned about the event where he was behind Olympic champion Hansle Parchment and Rasheed Broadbell.

Bennett looked nippy in his final workout at the UWI/Usain Bolt facility before heading for Eugene.

"I feel excellent going into the championships so I just have to remain focused and go out there and execute and do my best," he asserted.

The 2018 World Under-20 runner-up clocked 13.28 in the 2021 Trials but missed the team to the Tokyo Olympics. Now his sights are trained on Eugene.

"I have to surpass my limit. I can't think that my PB this season is actually my best so I have to go out there with the mindset that I have to do better."

Craig Sewell, Bennett's coach at Calabar High School, who still supervises his hurdling practices, says a personal best is on the cards. "He's in the shape of his life at this point," Sewell said.

Asked to compare 2019 and 2022, Bennett remarked, "The difference between me back then and now is that I became more mature in my sport. I've got much faster."

The new speed levels have come with a move this season to the Racers Track Club.

"Training at Racers has taught me a lot of things. I learnt to tweak a lot of things, so that has just been an incredible experience for me", Bennett said.

In 2019, Bennett raced against World champion Grant Holloway in the heats and 2015 winner Sergey Shubenkov and Holloway in the semis. Asked if he might be star struck by the big names in Eugene, he replied: "Definitely not. I mean, it's my second World Championships, I've had the experience, no more nervous Orlando."