Goule glad for the company

Photo: Natoya Goule (sitting) receives a high five from Simoya Campbell after they both crossed the line in the Women’s 800m in under 2 minutes at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures National Senior Athletics Championships on Saturday. Goule won the race in 1:59.63 followed by Campbell in 1:59.92

Both Natoya Goule and Simoya dipped below the two minutes barrier on Saturday night at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures National Athletics Championships to qualify for the World Championships in Beijing in August. Goule won the race in 1:59.63 just ahead of Campbell who finished in 1:59.92.

It was the first time in a long time that the nation was producing two athletes to perform in the half mile event at a major championships and race winner Natoya Goule was very happy that this has happened.

“It is brilliant, we need more people to go out there and represent distance because we are not only “sprint factory”. We need to build up our distance (program) like other countries, they have it all round so it means a lot that to see that both of us run under two minutes. I am really proud of Simoya, I know that she has worked hard,”

With school now behind her, Goule is looking to focus her preparations completely on Beijing.

“I need to continue training hard and pick up on my runs. I don’t have to worry about doing assignments, so I can relax, train, eat, sleep although I don’t eat a lot but I sleep a lot,” she joked.

Always running from the front in Jamaica where she gets very little competition, Goule is expecting to go faster in China.

“I want to go faster by Beijing, where I can run down somebody, where I won’t be leading so I can run faster, because I know I can,” she explained.

The performance of Goule and Campbell at the Championships should provide a boost to middle distance runners in a country completely dominated by sprinters of the ilk of Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.