The T&T cyclist shattered the 7-Eleven Velodrome record as well as his country’s record for the Flying 200m time trial yesterday at the inaugural US Grand Prix of Sprinting, clocking 9.91 seconds to break the mark of 10.092 seconds set by Marty Nothstein in 2000. Njisane Phillip, 20, also eclipsed his comrade Christopher Sellier’s mark of 10.10. Earlier this year, he became the first rider to dip under the 11-second barrier in T&T, at 10.71 seconds on a sea-level track that’s much slower than the 29-year-old track in Memorial Park. Jimmy Watkins has the US record, at 9.876 seconds, and Kevin Sireau of France holds the world record, at 9.572 seconds.
Phillip’s feat came against a loaded field representing eight nations, with T&T joined by Armenia, Australia, Canada, Colombia, the Netherlands, Venezuela and the US. It’s the first international track cycling event in Colorado Springs since a World Cup in 1993, and riders in the keirin, sprint and team sprint include three-time Olympic medalist Anna Meares of Australia and three-time world champion Teun Mulder of the Netherlands. The BMW-sponsored competition ends today, with qualification at 9 am and finals at 7 pm.
The 2010 Pan American junior champion, Phillip is hoping to make his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games, having recovered from a broken collarbone that he suffered in a keirin wipeout in January. He competes under former US national team coach Desmond Dickie, with intentions of racing at the Pan American Games in October in Guadalajara, Mexico – a primer for the four-stop World Cup series that begins in November. T&T manager Peter Maharaj wasn’t surprised by Phillip because “everything we’ve done in the past four months has been a proper foundation.” For a record, Maharaj said, “It’s all part of execution. The kid comes with a good mindset. He’s so talented on race day. He can live in the moment and handle stress.”
Race director Pat McDonough also wasn’t stunned by Phillip, saying “sprinters are all about intensity…They have two speeds, off and on.” Phillip called his record-setting run a “perfect ride,” noting his line was “pretty good.” It helped that he was going strong Friday in 100-metre training, and he maintains the record shows “a lot of progress within the last year – the power, the confidence. It has just been a big transformation.” He added, “Now I know that my programme is working…Last year, I had a pretty bad year. This year, I’m just confident. This is my year.”
Source: www.guardian.co.tt