Boyd’s Lofty Goals
Reaching a World Championship final coming off a knee injury may be a lofty expectation for some, but not tenacious Commonwealth Games gold medallist Alana Boyd.
Despite being on the comeback trail from a knee injury that cut short her domestic athletics season, the 27-year-old WAIS scholarship holder is still aiming to make the final at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in August.
A similar injury to her other knee, where she had to have a ganglion removed, forced her to withdraw from the 2009 World Championships but knowing how to deal with the injury – mentally and physically – has helped Boyd set what she thinks is a realistic goal in what is ultimately part of her lead-up to the 2012 London Olympics.
“I’ve had a few injuries over the years and dealt with the ups and downs they bring, so I know how to deal with them without dropping my bundle,” said Boyd who moved to Perth 18 months ago to train with renowned WAIS pole vault coach Alex Parnov.
“Having been through this injury before, where they have to scrape my knee, has made it a bit easier to keep preparing for the World Champs because it has meant I have done different work in the gym than I normally would have, so I’ve been able to work on other areas.
“I am almost back to full training now, running and jumping and I’m just building up to full run ups.
“Surgery could have been delayed until after the Championships but I didn’t want to push through it and risk not competing well in the lead-up to the Olympics so I decided to deal with it now and so far so good.”
Helping the decision to undergo treatment now was the fact that Boyd set an A-Qualifier clearance of 4.50m in March to get her onto the team for the World Championships.
A few weeks after that she set a personal best of 4.60m and has set a long-term goal of bettering Kim Howe who holds the Australian record of 4.72m, which was posted in Donetsk, Ukraine in February 2007.
The 4.60m jump which was recorded at an intra-club meet in Perth, put Boyd equal second with former world record holder – and fellow Australian Emma George – on the all-time Australian rankings.
To win gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year Boyd cleared 4.40m and won on a countback from Cypriot Marianna Zachariadi.
The women’s world record is held by Russian Yelena Isinbayeva with a vault of 5.06m set in Z√ºrich, Switzerland in August, 2009. A year earlier Isinbayeva won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a clearance of 5.05m
“I think bettering Kim’s record is an achievable goal for me,” Boyd said.
“I’ve had that goal for the past few years and I am starting to get up around those numbers.”
Boyd heads to Europe on June 23 where she will compete in the summer season against the best vaulters in the world.
Starting in Belgium, she then heads to Lucerne, Germany and London in the lead-up to the World Championships.
A short mind and body break after Daegu will then catapult into her Olympic preparation.
“While competing at events like World Championships and Commonwealth Games is great, for me it’s all about training for the next Olympics,” said Boyd who exited Olympic competition in Beijing in the qualifying round with a jump of 4.30m.
“I want to be there again and I don’t just want the tracksuit, I want to compete and compete well.”
–Tracey Lewis for Sportstar.com