A Commonwealth Star

The great young Welsh talent Becky James has become the face of the UCI Junior Track World Championships. Being a former Junior Track World Champion in the Keirin and the Sprint, she seemed the perfect choice for being the face of Glasgow based event.

Now she is the Senior World Champion in the same events and looks forward to the Commonwealth Games next year in Glasgow.

She was disappointed last year in missing the Olympics because of injury and illness, finding it difficult to watch them as she knew she could have been there. She then used her self-motivation and the motivation she found in the watching the success of others to push past her illness. She then put the Olympics behind her and concentrated on her training and really working hard, putting the hours in for the World Championships back in February and then taking two World Championship Golds.

However she’s not letting the Success of February go to her head and is now looking forward to future events and is back into training for what is to come. Knowing the experience of the young athletes very well, she can easily empathize with the pressures and difficulties of competing at such a high level and at such a young age. Saying that there is very little difference between Juniors and Seniors.

The stress of World Championship competition is exactly the same in each. She tells of what it was like being at school and having to train at such a high competitive level. Of how her school helped and supported her in her goal. How she was given two afternoons off a week to allow her to go and train in the gym in Cardiff. Also, how if she had to go to training camp at the weekend she would be allowed off early on the Friday and that the teachers would always help her to catch up on her work.

Saying “It was tough but I’m so glad I did it now.” She tells of how she looked forward to seeing more of Glasgow during the competition as this is her third time in Glasgow. Being the first time she had been in the city not competing- therefore not being subjected to the usual hotel, bus and track routine- she hoped to see some of the coffee and cake shops.

She is looking forward to next year’s Commonwealth Games. Talking about the surreal experience of the athlete’s Village in Delhi during the 2010 Commonwealth Games. How it was an odd experience to be around so many different athletes other than just cyclists.

The young seventeen year old Danielle Khan seems to be emulating Becky James with her racing at the weekend’s events. Khan came to the Championships confident that she was in good form and had been performing well in training. Although not performing well in her first race of the sprint final she put it behind her and focused on the final two and has now left the weekend’s event with two world titles.

Possibly we could see Khan achieving great feat’s like James’ in the years to come.

By Adam Smith, Glasgow Gaelic School