Tara Murray
A hamstring injury to Western Athletics Frankleen Newah-Jarfoi hasn’t derailed his form as he has torn up the track on his return.
A personal best in the 100 metres in Canberra in his first event back showed he had lost none of his pace.
He followed it up with his best run representing Australia in the under-20 team at the Cathy Freeman Shield in Brisbane.
The team of Newah-Jarfoi, Cody Hasler, Sebastian Sultana and Gout Gout left their rivals stunned, not only winning the race, but breaking the under-20 Australian and Oceania records.
Newah-Jarfoi said it was kind of surreal to have broken that record.
“I think it’s kind of got more to do with my journey that I’ve been on,” he said. “I had my hamstring injury not too long ago.
“Coming back and obviously getting an Australian record is insane.
“We had been training the whole week beforehand, we were pretty confident thinking we were good throughout the week…It was not a complete shock.
“It’s a record, not always going to go in and think we’re going to get a record today, when in with the mindset to try and do our best.”
For the team it was the first time that they had all raced together which made the feat more remarkable.
For Newah-Jarfoi the fact that he’s running faster than ever has shocked him after his hamstring injury.
His first competition he broke his personal best time, running 10.427.
“My first race back was the Canberra ACT championships, a few weeks back,” he said.
“Coming back from my hamstring injury, I was still a bit sceptical, still conscious in my head that’ll I’ll not run as fast.
“I had a good opener and my coach said to me between the heats and finals… You’ve got the capability to run a 10.4, don’t know if you’re going to do it today, you’ve got to be consistent and keep working towards it.
“I ended up running 10.4 in the final. I called him afterwards and he was like, I didn’t know you were going to run it today it was definitely a big shoot and good confidence boost.”
Newah-Jarfoi said his relay race was his best race so far and was hoping that he would continue to step it up in the coming months.
While 100 metres is his main focus, he will also again start racing 200 metres events in the coming weeks to help with his preparation.
“Everything is going to plan at the moment,” he said. “We’ve set out the next five weeks of racing, leading up to nationals in Adelaide.
“Hopefully get the world junior qualifier for Peru this year. I’ve got a few races coming up.
“I’m making sure on my mind, that I’ve got a clear mindset going to run.
“My motto this season has been run for fun and that is when the performances have come.
For Newah-Jarfoi, who did think about focusing on other sports a few years ago, running is where his heart is now.
“I had rugby and other sports,” he said. “Track and field is the one I’ll stick with at the moment.
“It’s been a long journey. How far I’ve come and with my teammates around me, the passion of mine that has grown.
“I think I will definitely stay in sport for a long time.”
