Simeon Williamson On The Road To Full Fitness

Simeon Williamson is one of the brightest stars of the British sprint squad but was sidelined for the majority of last season due to a knee injury.

Now back in training the twenty five year old is looking to get back on the race track as he prepares for 2012.

Taking a sweat test in Manchester with Gatorade earlier this week I caught up with him to talk about battling back from injury, how training is going and what he is expecting from the 2011 season.

- You are working alongside Gatorade in Manchester this morning and taking part in a sweat test so can you tell me about the event and how did the sweat test go?

I haven’t got the results back from the sweat test yet - but the actual session on the bike took a lot out of me. But I will be able to get the results of the sweat test and take them back to the UK athletics phisios and nutritionists and see if there is anything that they can do to help me perform better when it comes to a major competition.

- You missed all of the outdoor season last year due to a knee injury - so how are you and how’s training going ahead of the 2011 athletics season?

Training has been going well but I have still been having some niggles with the knee in the last few months so we are starting to sort that out at the moment.

But things are looking good at the moment and I’m 90% back into training - there are still a few things that we have got to try in training this week.

But if everything does go well this week then we can push on and start racing this season.

- Well that leads me into my next question really bearing in mind that you have missed so much so you what are you hoping to achieve during this 2011 season? Are you looking for a place on the plane to the world championships or is that competition going to come too early?

To be hones when I started back training in October I was looking for a place in the team for the world champs but since I have been having the niggles with the knee I’m just seeing how things are going to go.

Training wise things have been going well, so things are looking good in that respect, but because I’m still having the niggles with the knee, and trials is seven weeks away for the world champs, we are hoping  - if I start racing in the next couple of weeks that maybe I Can put something down.

- Where are we going to be seeing you race in the next few weeks?

Mainly in England - if I do race abroad then it will just be small meets just to get back into the swing of things.

- You came through the juniors as well as competing at the under 23’s so how have you found settling into the senior ranks - even though you have been around for a couple of years?

My second senior tournament that I went to was the Beijing Olympics, I finished second in the trials, and while it wasn’t exactly being thrown in at the deep end I was ready to make that next step.

So I have really taken it all in my stride and I think having a good junior and under 23 career has really propelled me forward up into the senior ranks.

- At the Berlin world championships in 2009 you came away with a gold medal in the relay so how much of a boast did that give you getting a medal so early on?

Well I didn’t do very well in the individual so the relay was like my second chance; we didn’t get the baton round in Beijing the year before, so this was like double the chance of actually getting a medal - which we actually deserved.

It gave me a lot of confidence as I looked forward to the 2010 season, which I ended up not competing in, but it was the icing on the cake for me for to be on the rostrum - you have got people like Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell on there was well so I will never forget that memory.

- So how do you find racing alongside those guys - the likes of Usain Bolt?

It’s been good. But the year I got injury I moved to Jamaica so I have started training with Usain Bolt and his coach out there - I have been out there for two years and things have been going well. Training with those guys I can only get better because I am always playing catch up and that is helping me to be a better athlete.

Also being around better guys it helps me focus on what I have to do and what it takes to be that good of an athlete.

- Jamaica has produced a whole host of work class athletes so having been out there and experienced the training are they doing anything different to what is being done over here?

Well it’s warmer so that helps, when it winter over here there is only so much that you can do outside because it is so cold, in Jamaica you can train all year round and you don’t really lose anything due to the weather.

Plus they just get their heads down and train more than anything - for most of those guys it’s kind of a way out to go and see the rest of the world, not everyone has the money.

- Can you talk me through a typical week’s training?

I train four days a week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - track session all four of those days and then there Wednesday and Thursday and drills and technique days.

- And there’s plenty of competition within the British ranks at the moment with the likes of Dwain Chamber, Craig Pickering and Harry Aikines Aryeetey how much do you like having that domestic competition? And how much has it made you a better athlete?

I have grown up with Craig, we competed in the under 23’s together, and we have really pushed each other and got the best out of each other and with Dwain coming back he has just jumped into the top two or three in Europe.

 So it’s good to have great national standard because we are always pushing each other and you know when you go to the trials to make the team you know that you are going to have to push that one extra bit to get there.

- The Olympic Games are now just over 12 months away so how much is that something that you’re thinking about or are you more concentrating on the here and now?

Yeah more on the here and now because I am not 100% so I’m sort of thinking that I need to get myself right - even if I don’t compete that well this season I need to go into the next season with a good base and foundation that will help me through to the 2012 Games.

- How excited a re you at the prospect of a home Games?

Oh yeah I’m very excited because I always run well in front of a British crowd - and so I’m looking forward to running well at 2012 - if there crowd is there then I will be there too.

My indoor PB’s and my outdoor PB’s were run in Britain so running with the top guys in the world with the home crowd behind me is going to be great.

- Finally what’s next for you over the next six month or so?

Compete, compete compete compete as long as I’m 100% I’m going to compete whoever I can because I really need to find my racing legs again - training is one thing but racing is a whole different ball game so I just need to find that again. Once I have done that I will be heading back out to Jamaica in October to get ready for 2012.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

Simeon Williamson was at the Manchester Velodrome undertaking sweat test analysis with scientists from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI).

The test has been designed to help him understand proper hydration during intense training to ensure optimal performance during competition.

Gatorade is the official hydration partner of the British Cycling team and Team Sky and fuels world class athletes in their quest for greatness.

Simeon Williamson is one of the brightest stars of the British sprint squad but was sidelined for the majority of last season due to a knee injury.

Now back in training the twenty five year old is looking to get back on the race track as he prepares for 2012.

Taking a sweat test in Manchester with Gatorade earlier this week I caught up with him to talk about battling back from injury, how training is going and what he is expecting from the 2011 season.

- You are working alongside Gatorade in Manchester this morning and taking part in a sweat test so can you tell me about the event and how did the sweat test go?

I haven’t got the results back from the sweat test yet - but the actual session on the bike took a lot out of me. But I will be able to get the results of the sweat test and take them back to the UK athletics phisios and nutritionists and see if there is anything that they can do to help me perform better when it comes to a major competition.

- You missed all of the outdoor season last year due to a knee injury - so how are you and how’s training going ahead of the 2011 athletics season?

Training has been going well but I have still been having some niggles with the knee in the last few months so we are starting to sort that out at the moment.

But things are looking good at the moment and I’m 90% back into training - there are still a few things that we have got to try in training this week.

But if everything does go well this week then we can push on and start racing this season.

- Well that leads me into my next question really bearing in mind that you have missed so much so you what are you hoping to achieve during this 2011 season? Are you looking for a place on the plane to the world championships or is that competition going to come too early?

To be hones when I started back training in October I was looking for a place in the team for the world champs but since I have been having the niggles with the knee I’m just seeing how things are going to go.

Training wise things have been going well, so things are looking good in that respect, but because I’m still having the niggles with the knee, and trials is seven weeks away for the world champs, we are hoping  - if I start racing in the next couple of weeks that maybe I Can put something down.

- Where are we going to be seeing you race in the next few weeks?

Mainly in England - if I do race abroad then it will just be small meets just to get back into the swing of things.

- You came through the juniors as well as competing at the under 23’s so how have you found settling into the senior ranks - even though you have been around for a couple of years?

My second senior tournament that I went to was the Beijing Olympics, I finished second in the trials, and while it wasn’t exactly being thrown in at the deep end I was ready to make that next step.

So I have really taken it all in my stride and I think having a good junior and under 23 career has really propelled me forward up into the senior ranks.

- At the Berlin world championships in 2009 you came away with a gold medal in the relay so how much of a boast did that give you getting a medal so early on?

Well I didn’t do very well in the individual so the relay was like my second chance; we didn’t get the baton round in Beijing the year before, so this was like double the chance of actually getting a medal - which we actually deserved.

It gave me a lot of confidence as I looked forward to the 2010 season, which I ended up not competing in, but it was the icing on the cake for me for to be on the rostrum - you have got people like Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell on there was well so I will never forget that memory.

- So how do you find racing alongside those guys - the likes of Usain Bolt?

It’s been good. But the year I got injury I moved to Jamaica so I have started training with Usain Bolt and his coach out there - I have been out there for two years and things have been going well. Training with those guys I can only get better because I am always playing catch up and that is helping me to be a better athlete.

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