Gqeberha hurdler Mondray Barnard is on the right track and oozing confidence ahead of his much-anticipated senior debut at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.
The 23-year-old Bachelor of Commerce student at IIE’s Varsity College Nelson Mandela Bay excelled at the weekend to win the bronze medal in the men’s 110m hurdles final at the FISU World University Games in Bochum, Germany.
Tatsuki Abe of Japan took first place, crossing the finish line in 13.47 seconds.
Angel Diaz came second while Barnard settled for a tight third-place finish, both athletes clocking 13.59.
Seven one-thousandths of a second separated the two in the photo finish.
The former Pearson High School pupil said he felt confident now about competing in Tokyo.
He said the bronze medal was a massive confidence boost ahead of the World Champs.
“I am incredibly proud of the bronze medal finish at the FISU World University Games,” Barnard said.
“It was a tightly contested battle, and while just missing out on silver, securing a spot on the podium is a fantastic achievement, and I’m very grateful.
“To my team back home, my coach and family, I couldn’t do it without them.
“It would be my first senior World Championship, so I’m going out there and taking it all in, having fun and growing in the sport among the big names.
“I would love to run very fast on that stage, though.”
Barnard is trained by biokineticist and high-performance coach Jessi Kahn, who is also the founder of Jessi Heatley Sprints and Hurdles Academy.
Kahn described Barnard as a special elite athlete who sacrifices much for his career.
“He is very disciplined, he perseveres, he is just one of those athletes that you love to have because he just gives his all at every training session.
“He never missed sessions, he’s just a great all-rounder.
“I am very excited about his bronze medal finish,” Kahn said.
“Going into the event, we had great preparation.
“Let’s go back a couple of months. He had his SA National Championships, and then he went to Europe, where he competed in a gold label race, where he got silver and gold medals, respectively.
“He came home, we put him in a five-week block to prepare for the World Champs, and it was very smooth, and we are very happy with the preparations.
“This was definitely part of the preparations for the world champs, to expose him to that sort of level, and he is still in Europe, where he is going to partake in another three competitions to keep him ready from a race perspective.
“Our main goal, because this will be his first World Champs, is to make the semifinals.
“Obviously, if he makes the final, that would be massive, that would be the biggest achievement.
“But with this being his first World Championship on a senior level, we would like to get through the heat and also the biggest thing we would like is for him to run a personal best time.
“Because obviously when you are running against guys at that level, it is going to push you. So that is our main goal for world championships,” she said.
The Herald