Jeremiah Azu – pressure is a privilege
Last year, in the course of two weeks, Jeremiah Azu won the 60m at the European and World Indoor Athletics Championships. This weekend he defends his World title. He told the British athletics writers this week that being defending champion “brings a lot of confidence and you have proved to yourself that you know you can achieve what you believe you can. And that’s something I’ve always prided myself on is not just thinking I can do something, but actually going through and doing it. So yes, it’s great for the confidence and I’ve been very vocal about how important confidence is in athletics. It’s a great feeling going in as defending champion. It’s Friday, it’s going to be a new challenge, but something that I’ve always wanted to be in that. I’ve always wanted to be in that position”.
He added: “I think I’ve got the advantage. I think people try and make out like it’s pressure going and defending it. I think I’ve got the advantage over most of the competitors there. I’ve actually gone and done it”.
Having won last year gives him confidence but certainly does not make him complacent: “I think the biggest thing is just getting the training down. Last year with all the changes [changing location and coach and
becoming a father], it was hard to just put weeks and weeks together. This winter, I had zero interruptions health-wise, because I also had a few small injuries throughout last year. So it wasn’t even just the life changes. I think the injuries were probably because of the life changes, naturally, more stress on the body, on the mind. Like your body can’t really take the training.
So the biggest thing this year has just been getting the training done and being able to do a bit more volume because we’ve had more time. Last year I came back, I think the week of Christmas. So it’s not long before indoor champs and all those take place. But this year we had so much time, we could really sit down and have a proper plan of how we want the year to look. And I think that’s been the biggest difference. I’ve been able to be consistent, and I think the consistency is the biggest difference”.
Azu embraces the opportunity and the expectation as he explained: “I’ve always said I want more pressure on myself. I think we had a team speech a few years ago and our team captain said ‘pressure is a privilege’. So I think it’s what you make of it and I think it’s great to be going in defending champion. It’s great to have people talking about you. It’s great to be in these conversations. I’ve always believed that I’m an athlete of that calibre. So for me, it’s where I wanted my career to go. So as surprising as it is, like I think I’m right where I want to be”.
He has two external motivations to give him extra strength: becoming a father and his faith in God: “Becoming a father for the first time was, it’s hard to explain to people, unless you go through it. It’s turned my life around completely. And I’m loving the person that it’s made me.
For me, faith is everything. The discipline I get from my faith is what I use in my training, because I believe I’m working on a God-given talent that requires me to put my own into it. I can’t do it half-heartedly. I can’t show up some days the same way I would wake up and get into the Scriptures, the same way I’ll wake up and attack training. For me, they go hand in hand. I think a wasted talent is one of the saddest things on earth, not just like mine, I mean, in general. And I’d never want to finish my career and think, oh, what if I did more here and more there? I don’t stand on the line with fear because there are bigger things than me, and there are bigger things than track and field. And I think that all stems from my faith”.
There is a huge expectation from him, but he seems ready to deliver.
