Don’t call it a comeback!
Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 4th, 2012 -- (The St. Kitts-Nevis Times):- Without a doubt, 2011 belonged to Kim Collins. Our illustrious icon astounded the entire athletic world when in January, at the age of 34, he left retirement behind and made it unmistakably clear that he is still a force to be reckoned with.
The 2003 World Champion made new sprint records, and skillfully dominated in races with men 10 and even 15 years his junior.
The dominance began in February, when Kim gained a blistering victory at the Moscow Open. Then, in Düsseldorf, Germany, Kim scorched the competition when he ran the fastest 60m in the world at 6.52 seconds, and in the process broke his own 60m record which had stood since the year 2000 (1) .
He soon bested even himself and again updated his personal best when he ran 6.50 seconds in the heats of the BW Bank Meeting a few days later (2).
Kim impressively continued to roll back the years throughout 2011. He made it look easy in May when he clocked 10.05 seconds to win the 100m race at the FBK games in The Netherlands.
The phenomenal Kim continued to put St. Kitts-Nevis on the map when in August he remarkably won both his heat and semi-final races in the 100m at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea (3).
Despite being the oldest on the track, Kim defied his age when he finished 3rd in the finals. Before this race, Kim already held the world record number of appearances in the 100m World Championships with seven. With this bronze medal, Kim extended his record appearances to eight.
But he did not stop there.
Kim led the St. Kitts-Nevis relay team to score a medal in the Men’s 4x100m, when they brought home the bronze at the World Championships. The race gained Kim his fifth World Championships medal.
In September, he won three silver medals in just two weeks: at the Men’s 100m Athletics Bridge in Slovakia, at the Men’s 100m at the ISTAF meet in Berlin, and at the IAAF World Challenge in Zagreb, Croatia.
He continued to dominate headlines in late October at the XVI PanAmerican Games in Mexico. Like fine wine, Kim proved he is only getting better with age. He demolished a 28-year-old PanAm record of 10.06 seconds when he ran a time of 10 seconds flat, winning the 100m semi-final with an open wide lead over his other competitors.
Despite a slightly shaky start in the 100m Finals, he won the Silver medal with a time of 10.04 seconds, just 0.02 seconds behind the winner in a photo-finish race. This gave St. Kitts-Nevis its first ever medal at the PanAm Games.
Notwithstanding all of his extraordinary achievements, Kim is a kindhearted, down-to-earth family man, who is dedicated to giving back to the community where he was born and raised. Scores of young aspiring athletes participated in his Track & Field Camp in April, which was held under the theme ‘Sharing to Achieve Greatness’.
The hometown hero is undoubtedly the most decorated Caribbean sprinter in history. He has made his tiny country of St. Kitts-Nevis known to millions all over the world. After his success at the World Championships, Kim Collins became the 8th most popular subject on Twitter, proving himself to be the Federation’s brightest shining star.
Calls have been widespread for the accomplished athlete to be appointed a national Sports Ambassador, as has been done in Antigua with Vivian Richards, in Trinidad & Tobago with Brian Lara, and in Jamaica with Usain Bolt. These calls have to date gone unanswered. Nevertheless, Kim remains the pride and joy among the people of his country, where he is showered with love for flying the Federation’s flag high across the world.
There was no difficulty, therefore, in naming Kim Collins the St. Kitts-Nevis Times Person of the Year 2011. As he gears up to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London, it is certain that the whole nation will be rallying behind with pride behind our beloved icon, with the popular cheer - “run Kim run!”
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