By Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway
Jaleel Croal’s photo by Courtney Bascombe
Sprinter Jaleel Croal walked away from the second edition of Pan Am Jr. Games in Asunción, Paraguay, with a 200m silver medal on Thursday, after snatching 100m bronze last Tuesday. He was fifth in the 200m during the inaugural event in Cali Colombia, in 20.93 seconds in 2021.
“My race strategy was just to run, run, run, because I was way in the back and I thought I did pretty well,” Croal, who ran from lane three with teammate Wanyaé Belle in lane four, told Island Sun Sports. “I didn’t surprise myself, but I got excited during the race because I was in position for a medal, so I knew that I just had to hold on. I took the lead, and I said okay I’m in a position to win, then here comes Puerto Rico (Jose Figueroa) with a strong finish, but I am content with my performance honestly.”
Figueroa won in a meet record time of 20.16 seconds, with Croal second in 20.39—the fourth fastest time of his career behind the 19.95 he ran on May 30, during the NCAA DI East Regional—the 15th best mark in the world this season. Belle was fifth in 20.84, marking the first time that two BVI athletes had been in the finals of a major championship. Croal said it means a lot to walk away with a 200m silver and a 100m bronze medal.
“I think I’ve inspired the younger athletes coming up that they can also do it, so it means a lot being the first and only medalist at these games,” double medalist Croal said. “But it hasn’t sunk in as yet. I was kinda confident that I would win a medal, but knowing the significance of the games, it might hit me later.”
Croal said that he initially thought that the competition was set up where he’d run the 100m semis and final on the same day and not separate days. He could understand the 200m having a difference because it’s longer. “If there were more rounds, I don’t think it would have looked good. In the 200m semis, I was tired—my body was tired—I basically ran to qualify,” he noted. “In this kind of competition, you really have to bring your A game. You can’t make mistakes. It’s basically the person who makes the least mistakes wins the race.”
Croal, a South Florida Sr., said that it was a great field of competitors and they were leaving it all out on the track and it was a good experience for the future and gets him prepared for the “big dogs.”
“Getting a medal in the 100m is always special to me because I usually don’t do well in that race and after that, I knew I was about to make more history, so it motivated me for the 200m,” he said. “My goal was just to go out there and see what I could do. The field was different to 2021—faster and more talented. At any meet, I just go out there and run—because you’re not running for time, but to win. The time will come when you win so I just run to win.”
With the September 17 World Athletics Championships 200m on the horizon in Tokyo, Japan, it’s Croal’s longest season of his career that began on Feb 7, after it was delayed by injury. He said that it’s all in the mind. “You have to be mentally prepared, mentally strong and you have to have a good team behind you,” he said. “Right now, running for four days straight, I’m tired but I still have motivation for one more meet which is Worlds. My mind is strong and I’ve had a lot of mental preparation before this long season.”
He said that his mentality has definitely changed and this time last season, he would have been unmotivated to compete because of the long collegiate season. “This year, I’m experiencing it and with the type of athlete I am now, I’ll have to compete in the summer, so I have to prepare myself,” Croal said. “I’m honestly motivated to see what I can do against that kind of field (at Worlds) that’s a different kind of competition and I would like to have the experience of a big meet like that, so I’m motivated to go, just because of the experience.”
