Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun: from chasing buses to chasing dreams
Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun powered to the top of the UK 200m rankings with a sensational PB of 20.38 last month. spikesmag.com caught up with him ahead of this weekend’s Aviva World Trials and UK Championships. It turns out he had a very unusual introduction to the sport…
23-year-old sprinter Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun rocketed to the top of the European rankings with a stellar 200m performance in Switzerland last month.
This summer he could be competing for Great Britain at the World Championships in Berlin, just four years after his talent was spotted – as he sprinted for a bus.
“I was coming home from college when I saw the 28 bus,” Lawal-Balogun tells spikesmag.com. “I started running for it but just missed it.
“A girl saw me run, she said I was fast and that I should go to a club,” he says.
The then-19-year-old took her advice. He joined Kent AC and in doing so launched into his career in athletics. And in case you are wondering; the talent-spotter was promising club runner Anike Shand-Whittingham, who is now his girlfriend.
The South Londoner -- who was born to Nigerian parents and is the eldest of three boys -- was a keen recreational footballer. He knew he was fast, even then.
“I always ran for buses and trains,” he explains. “I remember when I was younger,
I used to run ahead and hold the bus for my mates. I knew I was fast because I always used to come second at my school’s sports day, too. I was one of the quickest 200m runners there.”
After joining Kent AC he started to reap the rewards of hard training under the coaching of Clarence Callender, the 1988 Olympic 4x100m silver medallist.
In his first full season he ran 21.44 for the 200m and in only his second campaign he qualified for the Great Britain team for the European Under-23 Championships in Hungary.
“I didn’t know much about athletics then,” he confesses.
“I’d never even heard of the European Championships.”
Last year he ran what was then a lifetime best of 20.88 to finish fourth at the Olympic Trials in Birmingham
before advancing in La Chaux-De-Fonds with a stunning 20.38 clocking. This result moved him to the top of the European rankings and to No.12 on the all-time British rankings.
So, was he surprised by the performance?
“Yes, I had been running 20.8 but my coach always said there’ll be a sudden drop, but we didn’t know how far it would drop,” he explains. “He thought that I was capable of running 20.5.
“I just took the chance and when I saw the time I was very shocked because three years ago I never thought I would run that quickly.
To see the time stop at 20.38 it was like, ‘Woah, is that me?’
“It’s down to my coach and my dedication. Before I started running seriously I was never exposed to anything, but now I’m always willing to learn new things and adapt,” he says.
“I don’t want to get too excited, though, because I’ve got the trials next. I’ve got to stay focused,” he says, about this weekend’s Aviva World Trials and UK Championships.
The marketing student at the University of East London has bettered the World Championships qualification mark and is now chasing a place on the team for Berlin. Victory would guarantee it but he remains relaxed about what he needs to achieve.
“Running 20.38 has not really changed anything,” he insists. “I’m still not where I want to be. I want to be on that plane.
“I try not to look too far ahead to the World Championships. If I do I will be overwhelmed. I need to take it one step at a time.”
The Mottingham man will no doubt just relax and concentrate on the task of chasing the plane that is heading for Berlin – a little like when he was running for the number 28 bus. This time, though, he definitely won’t want to miss it.
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