Reflecting on her experience at the 14th IAAF World Championships in Russia, Karene King comes home hungry for more, ready to work and more determined than ever before to realise her dreams. Photo: VINO/File

Chantel Malone (left) and Tahesia Harrigan-Scott were the other two Virgin Islands' representatives at the recent 14th IAAF World Championships in Russia. Photo: Provided

A bout of late nerves in the build up to the biggest race of her career so far may well have cost Karene King dearly, but being the determined, focused young lady that she is, disappointment was soon replaced with a new optimism as to what she can achieve.

Everything seemed to be right in the buildup, the weather was similar to what she knows from her time training up in Portland, Oregon with long time coach Ronye Harrison. Her warm up for her debut 200m race went great, she felt loose and ‘stretchable’ and then got the call to enter the call room.

“Then, I got a little nervous and that could be one of the reasons or issues. I got a little nervous a little too late and didn’t have time to control my nervousness,” King reflected, after running 23.97 seconds. “The race didn't go as planned, but it has been a learning experience. I didn’t get out like I needed to, really can’t say what happened, it just didn’t happen on this day.”

Racing against the world’s best is a great experience King said, noting it’s something she wanted. “Meaning, I want the time to cry—good cry. I want that time to see my flag raised. I want that time on the podium,” she expressed. “But, everything happens in God’s time. I just have to hold on by faith and wait for that time to happen.”

Despite the performance, King took heart from the fact that overall it had been one of her best seasons and she had achieved much. “I’ve been to a place I’ve never been to, which is the World Championships. I’ve run the fastest I’ve ever run. I’ve been more consistent this season, so this season has been great,” she pointed out. “It was better than last season and I can say its coming better and better for me.”

Despite making it to track and field’s marquee event, King is not satisfied. She’s hungry and wants more.

“I’m grateful and thankful for it, but there’s no such thing as just laying back and saying, ‘oh, I’m just going to go through the first round and that’s it,” the territory’s second fastest all time 200m sprinter said. "Of course I wanted go to the next round and it didn’t happen,” she stated. “But I have to stay humble, stay prayed up and stay faithful that it will happen in God’s time.”

King will now take the Moscow 2013 experience and build on it.

“This experience makes me hungrier as I’ve said, especially when I see people on the podium crying or finishing a race and crying, when I see people’s flag flying,” she explained. “It just makes me want things more, makes me want to work harder. So being here just makes me want it more. It happened last year when I went to World Indoors and that helped me to get here. So now being here, it makes me want it more, to make it to another World Championships and Olympic Games, not just being, but making the other step, advancing further.”