Tasmanian sprint sensation Jacob Despard breaks state 200m record, again
Tasmanian sprinting sensation Jacob Despard has written himself into the record books again but he’s now preparing for his biggest challenge yet. Here’s why.
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Tasmanian sprinter Jacob Despard might just be in the form of his life.
A week after breaking the Tasmanian 200m record, he’s only gone and done it again.
The 26-year-old ran 20.59 seconds during his win at the ACT State Championships at the weekend, smashing the 20.78s time he set just a week earlier.
It capped off a stunning weekend for the 2022 Commonwealth Games representative who also ran a 10.21s personal best, despite a -02 headwind, on his way to the 100m title.
“I think I’ve found a new level of confidence I haven’t had before,” he said.
“Being able to do a month training block up on the Gold Coast with my coach (Rolf Ohman) who is usually based overseas has actually made a massive difference.
“I knew that I was going to run the 200 quick but I never really thought about breaking the record again until my coach came running down to the fence.
“It’s a little ironic because we had been focusing more on the 100m in the past few weeks.
“There might have to be a discussion about dividing that time up now, but we’ll continue to work that out.”
Despite his record breaking achievements, Despard can’t afford to put his feet up just yet.
In the coming weeks he’ll tackle the Adelaide Track Classic on February 11 and Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on February 23.
When he does arrive in Victoria, he faces a potential showdown with American Fred Kerley, the reigning 100m world champion and Tokyo Olympic silver medallist.
Australia’s best sprinter Rohan Browning is also expected to compete.
“It’s all gone from 0-100 real quick,” Despard said.
“There’s going to be a really big opportunity to test myself against the world’s best.
“You don’t know what could happen on the day but I’m looking forward to it.”
PREVIOUSLY
A longstanding Tasmanian record was broken on Saturday with local sprint sensation Jacob Despard running himself into the history books in Queensland.
Despard, 26, broke the 200m Tasmanian record while competing at the Denise Boyd Shield meet at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre.
The 26-year record of 20.92 seconds, held by Simon Bresnehan, was finally eclipsed by the Commonwealth Games representative when he clocked a time of 20.78.
“I’ve been chasing this record realistically for the last 12 months,” Despard told The Mercury.
“I got close twice last season with 20.94 two times. So it was definitely a goal on the cards this year to break it so to do it on the weekend wasn’t so much a shock but a sign that we are moving in the right direction.”
Despard, who was a member of Australia’s 4x100m relay team that competed in Birmingham last year, said constant banter had flown between himself and Bresnehan throughout the years.
“There has been a bit of banter thrown back and forth between myself and Simon across the journey,” he said.
“He messaged me after the race and said about time. Every time I would run a 200 I’d always send him a cheeky message and say today is the day mate but this time I was finally right.
“We actually were both coached by Ray Quarrell growing up so it’s nice to have that personal connection as well.”
Despard will now focus his attention to Australian Athletics Championships in March and then the Budapest World Championship in August and is hoping to turn the heartbreak of his debut Commonwealth Games into an Olympics debut in Paris in 2024.
“To put all that training in and go halfway across the world and not get a result due to the baton drop was disappointing but the experience was unreal and getting that international exposure gave me a new found hunger and determination to make another team and also go as an individual 100 metre guy,” Despard said.
“I was super happy with my own performance in Birmingham. My own leg of the relay was really good so just growing on that confidence is key now.
“Paris in the individual 100 is the long-term goal so everything this year is set-up to build for that.”
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