Steve Fudge: Jonnie Peacock wants it all now but he must learn to be patient
He’s brilliant, almost to the extent where he’s thinking and worrying about stuff too much
Sprinters are very emotional characters: they’re very driven and ambitious. They’re very set in their routine and any change to them is quite a big deal.
This summer’s been a big change for Jonnie but he’s been fantastic in the way he’s come through ankle surgery and working with me as a new coach. There’s been a lot of change in his life and I’ve just tried to make him as comfortable as possible.
All we’re aiming to do is anything, everything that makes him run faster. We need to ensure he gets good coaching and all the medical back-up he needs, which is on tap here at the High Performance Athletics Centre in Loughborough.
It’s been a step-by-step process. The first is always making sure the athlete is healthy. The second is to build consistent training, and working out what training works best for them. The last thing is to figure out Jonnie as a person, and what works for him.
With some guys, these changes can take three years. With Jonnie we’ve got through this process relatively quickly. He is very, very raw in terms of the physical aspect of it but also in terms of how much we can influence the blades. I think he can really progress.
He needs to stay consistent with his training and working with the physical and technical factors.
Jonnie is absolutely brilliant, almost to the extent where he’s thinking and worrying about stuff too much. He’s a perfectionist. He’s great with tremendous focus but sometimes you need to calm him down, like a lot of sprinters, and make him more patient. He wants it all and he wants it now.
Steve Fudge is Jonnie Peacock’s running coach
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