Dage Minors On Season, NACAC, Races & More
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Dage Minors brings the curtain down on his memorable season when he competes at the NACAC Senior Championships in Freeport, the Bahamas, this week.
Minors heads to the Caribbean in fine form, having set a personal best and new national record at the West Chester Mile in Pennsylvania last week, finishing sixth in 4min 2.09sec.
The 26-year-old, who finished ninth in the 1,500 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, will compete at the same distance in the Bahamas and said another PB would be the perfect ending to his campaign.
“I’ve had high expectations this season, but at the same time, I’ve almost tried to belittle everything,” Minors told Bernews. “I’ll go into NACAC with that same mentality.
“I’ll look to compete well and put myself in a position to run fast. If it’s a fast race, I’ll look to finish the year with a PB.
“I’m a little tired, physically and mentally, but this is what I wanted, to be in a position to race late in the season and be at my best. When the gun goes off, I’ll just race.”
Minors expects the competition to be fierce, with the United States and Canada sending competitive teams, but said he feels like a “different athlete, mentally and physically” compared to his previous appearance at NACAC in Toronto four years ago.
“There will be a lot of competition, there will be prize money and [qualifying] points up for grabs,” said Minors, whose PB in the 1,500 is 3:41.24. “The winner gets an entry to the World Championships.
“The US and Canada are sending strong teams, so there could be a chance to run fast. Hopefully, if it’s not a fast race, I can beat some guys better than me.”
Also representing Bermuda at NACAC, which runs from Friday to Sunday, will be Minors’ Commonwealth Games teammates Jah-Nhai Perinchief, who claimed the bronze medal in the triple jump in Birmingham, high jumper Sakari Famous, and discus thrower Tiara DeRosa.
There will also be several athletes making their debuts at the senior competition, including sprinters Suresh Black, Keturah Bulford-Trott and Antonio Bailey, long jumper Mikal Dill, and Shayla Cann and Ryan Outerbridge in the 1,500.
Bermuda plan to field a team in the mixed relays made up of Minors, Bailey, Bulford-Trott and Cann.
“I’ll be the oldest [Bermudian] athlete there, which feels funny,” added Minors, who finished third in his event at the USATF Bermuda Games at the Flora Duffy Stadium in April.
“I’ll be on hand to lend some advice to some of the younger athletes competing at their first senior meet.”
I think Dage Minor is the only one who has had a memorable experience. Dage has just done so well in this respect.