Kerron Stewart notches up her second Golden League 100m victory of the year (© Getty Images)
Oslo, NorwayLike nearly everyone else in Oslo's famous Bislett stadium, Jamaica's Kerron Stewart hadn't ever seen such torrential rain at an athletics meeting. What made her almost unique was that she was ready to revel in the conditions.
She eventually won the 100m at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo, the second leg of the six-meeting ÅF Golden League 2009, in 10.99 a little more than an hour after the rain had come to an end but was fully prepared to splash her way down the home straight during the downpour.
Singing in the rain
“I was like, 'You know what, it doesn't matter. I'll go out there right now. I was ready,” joked Stewart, who can boast of a 100m best of 10.80 from last year and who has already run 10.92 this summer.
Her response obviously prompted a few questions about when she had last seen the Oscar-nominated film classic Singing In The Rain, released 32 years before she was born but a staple of every movie channel in the United States, where she resides in Auburn, Alabama.
The answer, it seems, was never.
“Ha, ha! I learn something new at every meeting and it's not just about athletics,” she smiled. “I have to tell you the truth, I have never even heard of the film. I'll have to check it out on YouTube. I guess it would be pretty appropriate though to describe how I was feeling. Not singing exactly, but feeling strong and confident.”
Her sluggish start, with a reaction time of 0.193, saw her take 30m before she got into the lead but after going quickly through the gears there was never any doubt she was going to remain a contender for the $1 million ÅF Golden League Jackpot after also winning in Berlin three weeks ago.
She has her sights on a share of the cash despite five other athletes still being in contention.
Unlike some of her likely Jamaican and American sprint rivals at the World Championships next month, Stewart has committed herself to running in the six meetings and is relishing packing her bags for trips to Rome and Paris in the next two weeks.
Golden ambitions
“The Golden League is a big part of my plan, it's a part of my priority this year, if I win it, it will be good. Let's look at it this way, I'm not telling myself I can't do it. We will see how everything turns out,” added Stewart.
“I always want to run with the best. You want to show what you are capable of, but there will be a time for us (when asked about US champion Carmelita Jeter) to race so there's no rush.”
“At times, my biggest rival is actually me, so I have to just block out everybody else. It doesn't matter who's in the race or who's isn't in the race,” added the nomadic Stewart.
“I don't have a base when I'm running in Europe, I just seem to go from hotel to hotel but it seems to work out and it's also part of having a professional attitude. This is my job as well as the sport I love.”
Stewart won medals over 100m and 200m at the Olympic Games last summer but memories of her Beijing experiences will always be slightly soured by being blamed for Jamaica failing to finish in the 4x100m final, when she started her leg too fast for her incoming compatriot Sherone Simpson to be able to get the baton to her.
She is determined to make amends this year and also try to step on the top of the podium in Berlin, a place that was occupied in Beijing by her team-mates Shelly-Ann Fraser and Veronica Campbell-Brown.
“It's still early in the season and I'm still working on stuff, but I'm pleased with what I'm doing so far.
“After the Olympics, I'm also now ready for anything. I ran nine rounds in less than five days in Beijing, the strength is there. I've just got to stay healthy, this is what I train for. I'm trying now to focus on me,” said Stewart, who finished seventh in the 2007 World Championships 100m final and also got a silver medal as part of Jamaica's 4x100m quartet.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
She eventually won the 100m at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo, the second leg of the six-meeting ÅF Golden League 2009, in 10.99 a little more than an hour after the rain had come to an end but was fully prepared to splash her way down the home straight during the downpour.
Singing in the rain
“I was like, 'You know what, it doesn't matter. I'll go out there right now. I was ready,” joked Stewart, who can boast of a 100m best of 10.80 from last year and who has already run 10.92 this summer.
Her response obviously prompted a few questions about when she had last seen the Oscar-nominated film classic Singing In The Rain, released 32 years before she was born but a staple of every movie channel in the United States, where she resides in Auburn, Alabama.
The answer, it seems, was never.
“Ha, ha! I learn something new at every meeting and it's not just about athletics,” she smiled. “I have to tell you the truth, I have never even heard of the film. I'll have to check it out on YouTube. I guess it would be pretty appropriate though to describe how I was feeling. Not singing exactly, but feeling strong and confident.”
Her sluggish start, with a reaction time of 0.193, saw her take 30m before she got into the lead but after going quickly through the gears there was never any doubt she was going to remain a contender for the $1 million ÅF Golden League Jackpot after also winning in Berlin three weeks ago.
She has her sights on a share of the cash despite five other athletes still being in contention.
Unlike some of her likely Jamaican and American sprint rivals at the World Championships next month, Stewart has committed herself to running in the six meetings and is relishing packing her bags for trips to Rome and Paris in the next two weeks.
Golden ambitions
“The Golden League is a big part of my plan, it's a part of my priority this year, if I win it, it will be good. Let's look at it this way, I'm not telling myself I can't do it. We will see how everything turns out,” added Stewart.
“I always want to run with the best. You want to show what you are capable of, but there will be a time for us (when asked about US champion Carmelita Jeter) to race so there's no rush.”
“At times, my biggest rival is actually me, so I have to just block out everybody else. It doesn't matter who's in the race or who's isn't in the race,” added the nomadic Stewart.
“I don't have a base when I'm running in Europe, I just seem to go from hotel to hotel but it seems to work out and it's also part of having a professional attitude. This is my job as well as the sport I love.”
Stewart won medals over 100m and 200m at the Olympic Games last summer but memories of her Beijing experiences will always be slightly soured by being blamed for Jamaica failing to finish in the 4x100m final, when she started her leg too fast for her incoming compatriot Sherone Simpson to be able to get the baton to her.
She is determined to make amends this year and also try to step on the top of the podium in Berlin, a place that was occupied in Beijing by her team-mates Shelly-Ann Fraser and Veronica Campbell-Brown.
“It's still early in the season and I'm still working on stuff, but I'm pleased with what I'm doing so far.
“After the Olympics, I'm also now ready for anything. I ran nine rounds in less than five days in Beijing, the strength is there. I've just got to stay healthy, this is what I train for. I'm trying now to focus on me,” said Stewart, who finished seventh in the 2007 World Championships 100m final and also got a silver medal as part of Jamaica's 4x100m quartet.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF