BY CAROLYN JOHNSON, Star Writer
Tanesha Blair - RICARDO MAKYN
TANESHA BLAIR WAS among the top achievers at the 2006 National Junior and Senior Athletics Championships which ended on Sunday at the National Stadium.
The petite 17-year-old of Holmwood Technical student won the girls Under-20 javelin with a record throw of 47.49 metres, eclipsing former teammate Shaneka Parkes' 46.99m.
While she did well, Blair says her mind was not set on the national record, but the IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China from August 15-20.
"I was just aiming to get the qualifying mark for World Juniors (49.50)," she told STAR Sports. Blair said she will next aim for the qualifying mark when she competes at the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad between July 14-16.
"I have time. I have the CAC Games and I think I can reach it by then." she said.
NO SURPRISE
Blair has until July 31 to achieve the qualification mark and her confidence is buoyed by the ease with which she achieved the national record.
"Well it was nice, comfortable, no pressure, no surprise," she said. "The throw was just like that, just normal. The hard training is now paying off."
Javelin was not Blair's first love as she competed in the discus, hurdles and the 400m. She started throwing javelin in 2003 after seeing Parkes training.
"One day I saw Shaneka training and said this looked quite easy so I started throwing," she explained. After recommendations from her coach, she showcased her new talent at the G.C. Foster Classics and then the VMBS Boys and Girls Championships where she placed eighth.
Since then, she has been steadily improving, extending her personal best each time she competes. After placing fourth at the 2004 high school championships, she went on to not only win, but break Parkes' meet record (45.08m) with a 46.62m throw at the last high school championships in April. At the Penn Relays earlier this year she fell short of the record (47.08), only managing 46.08m. "I was going there to break the record but I guess that didn't happen," she noted.
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