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Walton focuses on Worlds, Olympics and records
- Updated: 26 July 2017
Jamal Walton is revelling in recent successes on the track, as he looks forward to representing the Cayman Islands at the IAAF World Championships in London and continuing his upward trajectory on the global stage.
Walton secured his berth in the 4-13 August showpiece event when he blazed his way to a gold medal in the 400m at the Pan American U20 Championships last week. He stormed to the title in 44.99 seconds, breaking a 22-year old meet record and his own Cayman Islands national record.
“I felt awesome because I defend my title from 2015 and I ran a huge personal best,” he told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.
He added that he did not expect to break the 45-second barrier. In doing so, he became the 16th teenager in history to do so. The run also easily qualified him to run at the World Championships.
Walton is having an impressive year. Here he is winning the 200m at the NatWest Island Games.
“It means a lot to represent my team and run against the pros,” he said of the opportunity. However, the 18-year-old said he’s not happy just to be there to make up the numbers. “My expectation is to PR again and trying to make it to the finals and try to win gold medal for the Cayman Islands.”
Walton also has his sight set on running at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and said, “my long term goal is to have the world records”.
He has been in fine form for the 2017 season. His time in Peru outstrips the previous national best of 45.70 he ran in April. Also this year, he set a new Cayman Islands record in the 200m to 20.57 at the same high school championships while running for Miramar High School in Florida.
In June, Walton won 200m and 400m gold medals at the NatWest Island Games in the Swedish island of Gotland. “It was very windy and cold at the same time but I still tried my best,” Walton said.
He also won 200m gold and 400m silver at the Flow CARIFTA Games in Curacao in April. He has also landed All-American honours for his performances representing his Florida high school.
Although Walton has qualified for next month’s World Championships, there has been no official word up to the time of writing from the Cayman Islands Athletic Association about any representation there. CaymanSportsBuzz.com has requested that information from the local governing body.
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