Cayman’s fastest man focused ahead of Rio

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 6 August 2016

Kemar Hyman has the daunting task of lining up in the 100m sprint on the track at Rio, widely considered the marquee event at the Olympics, featuring global icon, Usain Bolt. Nonetheless, Hyman is focused on running his own race.

Hyman said he plans to stay focused and not change much from his regular training throughout the year. His Olympic experience in London in 2012 has helped him prepare for time.

“I’m still staying focused. Four years ago, it was a lot different where I was younger but I’m a little bit older now. Things are a bit different. I’m handling things a bit differently, so I’m definitely looking for a successful trip in Rio,” he told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

“I’ve learned to not change anything, to keep doing the same things [I did] during practice throughout the year. Don’t change anything, don’t think differently,” he explained in an interview at the Cayman Islands Olympic team send-off at the George Town Yacht Club in July.

Hyman has been a constant presence on the international circuit.

At the London games, the Florida State University graduate, advanced through the preliminaries but failed to line-up for the semi-finals after battling with an abdominal injury.

“Four years ago, it was different. I was younger and thinking a lot of stuff. I was treating the Olympics as something big – which it is – but I should have treated it just as any other meet where I ran and really performed well.”

Hyman, who joined the sub-10 second club in 2012 when he ran 9.95 in Madrid Spain, said he is in “wonderful form”. His best time for the season was 10.16 sec in Madrid on 23 June. “I’ve been working hard through this year, I’m very consistent…[running] low 10s,” he said.

“My coach told me anytime you see something like that, it means something big is coming at the end of it. So, hopefully looking for something big in Rio. That’s what I’m working towards,” Hyman told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

“I’m confident for a good race. I’m confident to make it through the [preliminary] rounds. We’ll just stick with that for now and everything else will follow. If it’s under 10 [seconds], that’s fine with me; if it’s a PB or a national record, that’s excellent, so I’m looking forward to that.”

But does the prospect of getting in the starting blocks at the same time as sprint king Usain Bolt factor into his thinking ahead of the Olympics?

“Not really. I know it’s his last Olympics. It would be nice to actually race him and beat him fair and square before he finishes. That would be very nice. Hopefully, I can have that chance but him leaving the sport, we’ll definitely miss him,” Hyman said.

Hyman is scheduled to open competition in the preliminary rounds of the 100m sprint on Saturday, 13 August.