Olympic sprint hurdler Ronald Forbes is taking a well-earned break in the Cayman Islands after a hectic year that culminated in his 110 metres hurdles run at the London Games before he cranks up for preseason training and focusing on the world championships next year.
The 27-year-old North Side resident was disappointed that he stumbled at the penultimate hurdle in the heats at the Olympics and did not make it past the first round and hopes to do better next year.
For him it was an exceptionally long season because he went to the world indoors at the start of the year. Then a series of injuries hampered his preparations for the Summer Games, but he did his best nevertheless. Now, it’s a mandatory rest for the workaholic, ordered by his coach Joey Scott.
“This is an ideal time to come home and mingle with the family and more importantly get some rest,” Mr. Forbes said. “Next year at the world championships, barring injuries I guarantee him and myself that it will be a completely different year as far as higher standards go and better performances.
“From October we go into preseason training, focusing on the mistakes we’ve noticed over the past two years, like some strength and technique issues, especially on top of the hurdle and in between the hurdle as far as sprinting goes,” he said. “Once January starts, I’ve made the decision not to run indoors this year because they have no indoor championships and it’s all going to be race prep until the outdoor season starts in late February, early March and we’re taking that all the way up until the world championships in Moscow in August.
“The main goal is to make it there. I had a very good performance at the world championships last year and hope to better myself, not just to miss the finals by three spots but to be in the final itself,” he said.
Sprint hurdles is one of the most precarious events because it is extremely short and getting over those 10 barriers needs incredible levels of technique, agility and concentration. Also, injuries are more common than in other events.
“Hurdles is an event that anything can happen,” Mr. Forbes said. “I’m just going to come back and keep on pushing forward for the best performance I could possibly do.”
Mr. Forbes said he has been warmly received since returning. “The response has been astonishing,” he said. “Family, friends, of course, greeted me with open arms. A senior member of the community in North Side said that he didn’t care if I pushed a hurdle down or whatever; the fact is I made it where he wanted to go. That is good enough for me. It isn’t that I made it, the way he looks at it is that we made it.
“Words like that, coming from people in the community and also internationally, that they respect me for all the hard work and dedication I’ve put in to be an Olympian twice is good enough,” he said. “Of course, they say, they wish the race had gone a little better, but the fact that I went out there and represented to the best of my ability, under the circumstances they say that I am a true champion and warrior and I’ll do better things in the future.”
The unpredictable nature of the hurdles is reflected in the fact that so many of the top ranked exponents did not make it to the final, won by the United States’ Aries Merritt with compatriot Jason Richardson second and Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment – who won the Cayman International in May – grabbing bronze.
Cuba’s world record holder Dayron Robles was eighth in the final and the Olympic record holder and champ from 2004, China’s Liu Xiang, did not even finish his heat. There were other high-profile casualties, too.
“Anything can happen,” Mr. Forbes said. “Just one mistake, one thing to go wrong or one thing for them to go right and that means the difference between you making one spot and you making it in or not making it in.
“Next year there are going to be some phenomenal hitters out there, especially Hansle Parchment, who has had an exceptional year. I count no one out,” he said. “Everyone has been running really, really good this season. Unfortunately, this wasn’t my year, but that is how performances go sometimes.”
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