The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

LONDON, England — This is Trevorvano Mackey’s coming put party and he doesn’t intend to let anything spoil it. To ensure that he prevails, Mackey said he has adopted a slogan that says: ‘Trevor takes on the world by storm.”

He said from the moment that he qualified at the last minute during the NACAC Under-23 Championships, he was able to focus on the slogan and now that he’s living the Olympic dream, he’s just eagerly waiting to display his skills.

“Being around the senior athletes, being in the training camp and getting used to the climate here, everything is falling in place,” Mackey said. “We have the medical staff on hand, the coaches are here working with us and so I can’t complain. The only problem has been the food, but I’ve had to get used to it.”

Limited to just eating chicken and pasta and sometimes a little bit of cake because “you can’t starve yourself, you’re only human,” Mackey said he has been taking the food in moderation.

Having had a chance to meet and take some pictures with his idol, Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant, who is representing the United States on the men’s basketball team, Mackey said he’s “straight.”

“I’m just ready now to start competing.”

To be called an “Olympian,” Mackey said he considers it an honour to be competing against “some of the greatest athletes in history, some of the greatest athletes ever. So it’s just great to be a part of the Olympics and putting my name out there.”

While the first round of the men’s 200 metres won’t get started until Tuesday, Mackey said he has been going through some technical aspects of his race with coach David Charlton.

“All of the hard work has already been done,” he said. “I’m just dealing with the minor things that could make a difference in how well I run. It’s just time now for me to get mentally tough because this is my first time on the big stage. The crowd doesn’t get to me because I’m a showman. I just hope to do what I have to do and get through the rounds.”

With the world’s biggest showman, Jamaican world record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt expected to compete along with his arch-rival Yohan Blake, Mackey said whether or not he gets to compete against either of them, he’s not going to let their presence deter him from his goal.

“I just don’t want lane one. Any other lane but one,” he said. “That’s the hardest lane to run from. But I just want to focus on my race and do what I have to do. I will rely on God to pull me through because he brought me this far. But there’s no doubt in my mind that I will do well because coach Charlton has been working on some technical stuff since I came here from school. So I’m not checking for anyone in the race.”