Macrozonaris on track
By C. Galakoutis for NicolasMacrozonaris.com November 3, 2002 Laval sprinter Nicolas Macrozonaris has started preparing for the 2003 indoor season, having made several changes he believes will provide a basis for improved performances. After completing a 2002 outdoor campaign that included winning his first Canadian 100-meter title, Macrozonaris took a few weeks off in order to reflect on his progress to date and make some tough decisions. This past June at the Canadian championships in Edmonton Macrozonaris sprinted his way to a wind-aided 9.91 seconds for his first Canadian title. In the heats he ran 9.96 seconds, also wind-aided. Macrozonaris had in one day ran under 10 seconds twice; never before had a caucasian male run under 10 seconds more than once in a career with or without wind assistance! That performance in Edmonton, although above the legal wind limit of 2.0 meters/second, once again led to discussion in the sprint world about the taboo issue of race in sport and speculation as to when a white sprinter would legally break the 10-second barrier. Macrozonaris’s name was thrown in with those of South Africa’s Morne Nagel and Australia’s Matthew Shirvington as the frontrunners. A little over a month later in Manchester at the XVII Commonwealth Games, Macrozonaris failed to qualify for the sprint final and had to watch from the sidelines as fellow Canadian Pierre Browne captured the bronze medal. “I was happy for Pierre” says Macrozonaris, who defeated Browne in Edmonton. “This is a good thing for Canadian sprinting. Hopefully Pierre and I can push each other every year, that can only make us and Canadian sprinting better.” About his disappointing performance in Manchester, Macrozonaris realized that a new focus would be needed to be victorious at major international competitions. He also came to understand that he needed to improve all aspects of his preparations, including conditioning and nutrition. “Manchester showed that I need to work harder and get stronger. It was pretty clear in the semi-final that I was tired. Manchester was a real eye opener for me.” says the 22 year old. Macrozonaris made a painful decision in September when he parted ways with Sylvain Desmarais, his first and only coach. “I want to go to the Olympics” were among the first words Macrozonaris uttered to Desmarais when they met in 1998, a “matter of fact” type statement from a wide-eyed 17 year old that just happened to come true two years later. Macrozonaris ran a personal best of 10.19 at the Canadian Olympic trials in the summer of 2000 to earn a spot on the Canadian Olympic team headed to Sydney. Having shared that experience with Desmarais made his decision to change coaches all that more difficult. “Sylvain is a full time high-school teacher and he just didn’t have enough time to spend with me. He knew I had to move on to a full time coach,” he says. Macrozonaris has begun training with Daniel St-Hilaire, a Team Canada coach based in Montreal. St-Hilaire, who also coaches the promising young sprinter Hank Palmer, has made a career of a sport he loves and has over 30 years experience as an athlete and coach. One of St-Hilaire’s first tasks was to put together a new training program for Macrozonaris to help him develop the strength and endurance that will be necessary to run faster and with more consistency. “My first priority is to increase his capacity to tolerate high quality training relative to sprinting,” says St-Hilaire, who has Macrozonaris on daily and twice-daily sessions working on speed training, tempo, strength/power training and sprinting mechanics. “This could permit him to train the whole year without injury.” Macrozonaris is very happy with the opportunity to work with St-Hilaire and the attention he is receiving on a daily basis. “There aren’t that many quality sprint coaches in Canada, I did my homework and Daniel was the best pick for my needs. We work together every morning and that is what I need right now.” Asked how he feels about coaching and advising Macrozonaris, St-Hilaire recalls a few lines from the movie Chariots of Fire. “Coach Sam Mussabini tells the young Abrahams that if he sees the potential and believes that Abrahams can achieve something great then he would be the first one to want to coach him. For me Nick represents a great challenge, the first white male to run under 10 flat. He has the potential to do it.” St-Hilaire adds, “Mentally, Nick also has to improve his ability to stay focused on himself and his lane for the entire 100m distance.” A sub-10 second result may prove to be quite lucrative to the white male who runs it first. In the months leading up to the Sydney Olympics it was reported that Shirvington was offered 1 million dollars by a shoe company as an incentive to break the 10-second barrier. However insiders and fans on sprint message boards hotly debate the legitimacy of the discussion given the significant number of athletes, all black, who have run under 10 seconds. That question notwithstanding, a corporate sponsor may very well find it a profitable venture promoting the issue with the Athens Olympics less than two years away. When asked about the sub-10 and white sprinters debate Macrozonaris says he prefers to focus on other things. “My goal is to be Olympic champion in the 100 meters, and be the best sprinter in the world. They don’t hand out gold medals for running sub-10, but I am sure that if I achieve my goals a sub-10 clocking will have also been achieved along the way,” he says. Macrozonaris is also actively involved with the search for a new agent. Frustrated with not being provided more opportunities to compete outside Canada, he has ended his relationship with US based agent Ray Flynn. Macrozonaris is well travelled throughout the Canadian track circuit, however competed only once in Europe and in the United States this past season finishing a respectable second in both individual races. Macrozonaris feels that with the opportunity to compete alongside the marquee names in the sport his performances will improve significantly. He is hoping a strong indoor season, culminating with the World Indoor Championships in March 2003, will provide a springboard into the European outdoor circuit next summer. “Macro” is scheduled to run his first 60m race on November 30 in Montreal. |
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