The Tribune

ALTHOUGH she’s been inactive since she made her second appearance at the Olympic Games in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, former Bahamian 100 metre hurdles record holder Pedrya Seymour is looking forward to giving it another shot.

Now back in training with her original coach George Cleare in Louisiana, Seymour is working towards making the team that will represent the Bahamas at the Olympics in Paris, France, July 27 to August 11.

“I took a year off. I needed a break. I’ve been running at a high level since the age of 13 when I made my first CARIFTA team,” she said. “I’ve been running for the Bahamas ever since.

“But a lot of things happen. Life happened and I just needed a break from it. I took a year off with no intention of coming back, but I felt like I left prematurely and now I’m back training hard to try and make my third Olympics, so we will see what happens.”

Home for a couple days to represent the Bahamas at the sixth BTC World Relays Bahamas 2024 over the weekend at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium and to enjoy Mother’s Day this weekend, Seymour is working out with local coach Daron Lightbourne.

On going back to Cleare, Seymour said she’s found the “perfect match.”

“When I took my year off, I really had to find myself outside of track and I decided to go back to the place where I first loved competing and that was with coach Cleare,” Seymour said.

“He was like a father-figure to me and he knows me. I went back to him. Honestly, it’s been refreshing. We have wholesome conversations. It’s just good to be with a coach who knows you and who is from where you’re from.”

Knowing the type of coach that Cleare is, Seymour said the workout sessions have been intense - something she had to gear herself up to go through.

“Every day has been like a fight to get back to the top,” she pointed out. “I didn’t realise how hard I worked to make it to the Olympic final in 2016, so when I stopped and started again, I thought it was going to be easy.

“I thought I was going to bounce back quickly. But I’m getting older. I’m about to be 29 at the end of this month. So I’m not old, but like I said, I’ve been running at a high level since I was 13, so my body is trying to get used to me competing again after taking the break.”

Seymour, who celebrates her birthday on May 29, has already done five meets for the year, posting a season’s best of 12.03 in the 100m and 13.35 twice in the 200m hurdles. She has not yet qualified for the Olympics, but with about six weeks to go, she hopes to surpass the standard of 12.90 in the 100m hurdles.

“The next time the Bahamas sees me, I should be a qualifier for the Olympics,” said Seymour, who came home for the World Relays but wasn’t disappointed that she didn’t get to run on the women’s 4 x 100m relay team.

“There were four women who were running faster than me and I felt they did a good job. They ran 43.17. It was good to see them. I warmed up with them. I brought some intensity to their warm-up, so that was good to be in that atmosphere with them.”

Seymour’s goal this year is to qualify for the 100m hurdles.

Already, her long-time rival and friend Devynne Charlton and triple jumper Charisma Taylor, both of whom ran on the 4 x 100 relay team, have qualified.

Collegian Denisha Cartwright is also close to attaining the standard.

So Seymour said it should be an interesting showdown when the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations hosts its National Championships at the end of June.

“This is the first time that we have so many athletes who could qualify for the Olympics,” Seymour said.

“So it would be good if we can shock the world.

“I expect to come back to the nationals and bring the energy and put on a show for the Bahamian people. It’s our national trial and I think this trial will be different. It was either me or Devynne on top and we knew that we were going.

“But I think this time, it will come down to the nationals, like the USA trials, to determine who will be going to the Olympics. I think it will come down to who performs at their best and makes the standard at the trials.”

This weekend, Seymour said she just wants to enjoy Mother’s Day with her mother Cecily Seymour.

At the same time, she will enjoy being with her father Pedro, something she hopes to cherish just as she is making her comeback on the track.