Minors: USATF Meet Will Be A ‘Career Highlight’
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Dage Minors believes the star-studded line-up at the USATF Bermuda Games is the “greatest field of athletes” ever assembled on the island.
Minors, along with top local names Jah-Nhai Perinchief and Lamont Marshall, will be among some of the most decorated figures in athletics when they compete at the Flora Duffy Stadium on Saturday.
Adding a sprinkle of stardust to the inaugural meet – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Label Event – are a number of elite international athletes and Olympic medalists, including Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Grenada’s Kirani James, Jamaican star Yohan Blake and many more.
Minors, competing in the 1,500 metres, describes his emotions as a mixture of “nerves and excitement” as he prepares to race on the biggest stage of his career.
“It’s great that such an event is happening locally, right in my backyard!” Minors told Bernews.
“The field is probably the best to be assembled in Bermuda. I know the competition will be fierce, but this is what you want as an athlete – to compete against the best.
“I’ve competed against a few of these guys back in college. They will bring their A-game, and I’ll bring my A-game.
“Preparations have gone well. I’m feeling good, strong, and I just have to apply myself.”
Minors has already experienced the international level, having represented Bermuda at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, in 2019, but said the chance to race at a televised event in front of a packed crowd on home soil will be a career-high point.
The event, whose main local sponsor is Athene, will be broadcast live by NBC Sports and simulcast throughout Europe and Asia.
“Opportunities like this don’t come around that often in track and field,” Minors said.
“This is not like football or cricket when you can get a big crowd two or three times a season [in Bermuda], or May 24. It will be a career highlight for me.
“Hopefully, we can host this meet every year, so we have something to look forward to.”
Although Minors is based in Bermuda, working as a paraeducator at Sandys Middle School, he scheduled a block of training at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, his alma mater, in preparation for the meet.
He said his confidence was brimming after winning the 1,500 and 5,000 at the Adidas Trojan Challenge in Mount Olive, North Carolina, last month; he hopes to qualify in both events for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer.
“Qualifying for the Commonwealth Games is the main goal for me,” he added.
“The qualifying time [for the 1,500] is 3min 45sec, and my best is 3:45.06.
“When you try and race your best, the time will often take care of itself. I’m not one to always emphasise times anyway.
“When you do that, you often get distracted and overthink things.”
The event will take place on Saturday afternoon [April 9] and tickets, starting at $20, are available at bdatix.bm.
