Cox: This is my first Olympics, so I’m really excited. (Photo: Naftali Jr.)
Jamaican quarter-miler Anthony Cox says he is extremely relieved and excited to have been selected for his country’s team for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Cox, along with sprinter Kemba Nelson, were initially left out of the 66-man national team by the Jamaica Athletics Association (JAAA) but have since been added to Jamaica’s Olympic squad.
The 23-year-old Cox, who placed sixth in the men’s 400m final at last month’s JAAA Japan Championships, replaced Kimar Farquharson as a reserve on the men’s mixed 4x400m relay team.
Nelson, who finished fifth in the 100-meter final at the U.S. Championships, was added to the women’s 4 x 100-meter relay team as a reserve.
Cox, who will be competing in her first Olympic Games, said she is grateful for the opportunity and hopes to put on a great performance if given the chance.
“It’s everybody’s dream to make the Olympic team, so for me it feels amazing,” Cox said. “It’s my first Olympics, so I’m really excited. My coaches and I have worked really hard to get into this position, so it feels great for us right now.”
Cox, who has a season’s best time of 45.98 and a personal best of 45.43, is trained by Olympian Sanjay Ayer at Chase Athletics, based in Maryland, US.
Cox said this was a bittersweet moment for him, as he was initially distraught about being left off the team.
Now he plans to make the most of this opportunity once he gets to Paris.
“It was very disappointing for me and my coaches because I knew with the way I was doing right now I could have a positive impact on the team,” said Cox, a former star player at Calabar High School.
“When I get there I just have to do my best so I’m just looking forward to going out there and showing everyone what I’ve got. It’s been a tough season going back and forth between Jamaica and the US but Sanjay has always supported me so I’m really happy to get this result,” he added.
Ayre, who represented Jamaica in the 4×400 relay at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games and in the 400m and 4x400m relay in 2008, stressed how pleased he is that Cox has been selected for the country’s Olympic team, an opportunity he noted will open new doors in the future.
“Anthony is a young quarter-miler who has been running without a contract this year and has trained hard so I’m very pleased for him and delighted that he has been selected for the Olympic team for the first time. He is only 23 but has great potential and I hope to see him continue to develop as one of Jamaica’s future quarter-milers,” he said.
“I’m sure if he gets the opportunity to run on the team he’ll give it his all and, of course, let’s hope this first Olympic team opens the door for him,” Ayre said.
The Olympics are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11.
Anthony Cox (Photo: Naftali Jr.)
Ayer… He’s only 23 but has great potential
Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson competes in the women’s 4x100m relay at the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, USA, on July 22, 2022. (Photo: Colin Reid)
