KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaican Olympian and former St Jago star Juliet Campbell has been appointed athletics director of her alma mater. The 56-year-old Campbell, who took up the newly created post in August, told the Observer Online she hopes to bring back the glory days. I have a solid group of qualified and experienced coaches and we’ll be working towards putting St Jago on top from the get-go," said Campbell.
"Coming back to St Jago as athletic director is truly a full circle for me. This school shaped who I am as an athlete and as a person. It's an honour to now be in a position to pour back into the next generation of student-athletes and help build something lasting here," she added.
Campbell was one of Jamaica's most versatile runners, competing mostly in the 200m and 400m but also dabbled in the shorter 100m, winning bronze on the 4x100m relay teams in 1993 and 2001. Campbell, who represented Jamaica at three Olympic Games in 1992, 1996 and 2000, has a personal best of 22.51 for the 200m and 50.11 for the 400m. She won the 200m at the 2001 World Indoor Championship in Lisbon, Portugal.
Campbell, who started out as a jumper became one of the best St Jago athletes of all time, establishing record in the Class Two 400m with 53.5, which was well faster than the winning time in Class one of 55.6. She would also break the Class One 400m record stopping the clock at 53.8. During her time at St Jago they were not able to stop the Vere Technical juggernaut.
However St Jago girls won the Champs title four times in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, while the boys won twice in 1987 and 1993. Campbell is tasked with returning St Jago to those glory days.
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