by Larry Eder
Delloreen Ennis, center of race, 2008 Beijing, photo by PhotoRun.net.
Brooks Johnson was just named the 2010 Nike USATF Coach of the Year. Johnson is at the top of his game. Last summer, at the AVIVA London meeting, I was lucky enough to witness Brooks interacting with David Oliver, his prized hurdler.
Well, Coach Johnson is adding to his small training group in Florida with the addition of Delloreen Ennis, Jamaica’s 100 meter hurdler, and three time World Championship medalist.
New coach for triple World medallist Delloreen Ennis
1st
December 2010, Orlando, Florida – Jamaica’s three times World 100mH
hurdle medallist Delloreen Ennis has moved to Florida and is now working
with USATF Coach of the Year Brooks Johnson at his base in Orlando.
The 35 year old has been consistently ranked amongst the top hurdlers in
the world for the past 11 years and is excited about the opportunity to
learn from such a distinguished coach.
Ennis
was a standout student at St. Jago High School in Spanish Town, Jamaica
winning the Carifta Games U20 100mH gold in 1992 and 1994. She
accepted a scholarship to Abilene Christian University in Texas in 1995
and graduated with a degree in management in 1999. Abilene became her
home. She married 400m runner Lincoln London who became her coach and
in her first year as a professional athlete she qualified for the
hurdles final in the 1999 IAAF World T&F Championships in Seville.
Her success continued as she placed 4th in the Olympic Games
in 2000 in Sydney. After a maternity break in 2002 she returned to win
the 2003 Central American and Caribbean Championships and went into the
World Championships in Paris as one of the gold medal favourites.
Unfortunately an injury to her Anterior Cruciate Ligament in her right
knee going over the final hurdle ended her 2003 season and required
surgery.
On
her comeback she progressed to the semi-final of the 2004 Olympic Games
and has not looked back since. In 2005 she won the silver medal in the
IAAF World T&F Championships in Helsinki, in 2007 she took the
bronze medal in Osaka and in 2009 she took her third World Championships
medal with another bronze in Berlin. Between World Championships she
took the 2006 Commonwealth Games bronze in Melbourne; won the 2007
Pan-Am Games gold in Rio de Janeiro and placed 5th in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Since 1999 Delloreen has been the Jamaican 100mH Champion seven times.
Delloreen hopes that her coaching change can give
her renewed motivation to turn the silver and two bronze medals to gold
in the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu and finally get that
Olympic medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, “I am very excited
about the opportunity to work with Brooks. He is one of the most
knowledgeable hurdles coaches in the world. We have only been working
together for three weeks and he has already identified technical
improvements that will help me run faster next year. I was used to
training by myself in Abilene but am really enjoying the group
atmosphere in Orlando”.
Johnson’s group in Orlando includes three top male hurdlers including world number one David Oliver, Dwight Thomas and Joel Brown; as well as the likes of Xavier Carter, Novlene Williams, Cydonnie Mothersill and Tiffany Williams.
—
Regards,
Ricky Simms
Pacesetter Management
