800m record holder sets sights on World Champs medal
Published:Tuesday | January 3, 2023 | 1:06 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
FOLLOWING a breakthrough season last year that saw him setting a new national 800 metres record, finishing fifth in the final of the Commonwealth Games and representing the country at the World Championships, 22-year-old Navasky Anderson believes 2023 could be an even better season.
“Last year was definitely a breakthrough year and a solid year,” said the Mississippi State representative, who took over as national record holder in the 800m when he clocked one minute 45.02 seconds in finishing second in the 2022 NCAA SEC Collegiate final. He broke the 1:45.20 mark set by Seymour Newman back in 1977.
Anderson is optimistic that for this season, his training programme will see him improve his overall performance.
“There’s a lot to improve that I’m working on in practice. So with my coach, this season we will be geared towards achieving my goals little by little,” he added.
Anderson, who cleared a personal hurdle in 2022 by representing the country at a major track meet for the first time, feels with that achievement now out of the way, getting on the medal podium at this year’s World Championships is the next item on his to-do list.
“Everything that I’ve been doing has been geared towards those types of meets, and getting a medal is the goal,” Anderson said. The 2023 World Athletics Championships is set for August 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary.