 Welcome back to the Sportsmax Zone, time now for some track and field action. Performer Kingston College star Sprint on Jevon Madison is now healthy and ready to deliver on the promise shown as a junior athlete. Having left Casey, Madison went to Florida State University in 2019 and after a promising start to his collegiate career, COVID-19 and an Achilles injury which required surgery derailed his progress. Well now under the guidance of Coach Glenn Mills, there is renewed hope. He had a sit down with our very own Ricardo Chambers. Jevon Madison, first of all, how are you doing? I'm not too, but I'm doing fine, no complaints. Yeah, that's good. Let's start by talking about the Jevon Madison in high school. You were an absolute star. I remember your name being on everyone's lips from you were in class four, just 11 or 12 years old before you even competed at champs. You ran the 100, you ran the 200, you ran the 400 meters. As an 11-year-old with that type of attention, what was it like for you? Honestly it was an experience, I enjoyed it though. Personally I always thought that from that younger age I always thought that I was probably built for things that to be honest, all the attention and stuff so I really didn't mind. I enjoyed it. It didn't bother you at all? No, not at all. I enjoyed it. How would you describe your overall experience competing in high school track and field? When you were in class three, you won the sprint double. You won a 200 gold medal in class two as a first year class two athlete and then a lot of things happened, injuries, fall starts, a couple races where it seemed as if you just jogged through in finals. How do you reflect, how do you sum it all up, how do you look back at it all now? I always think back from time to time and for me I always look at things from my past as a learning experience and one of the good times and the bad. I more appreciate the bad because it gives me a clear indication of what I am and where I need to go to be where I want to be. I enjoyed it all, the goods and the bads. What's the main lesson you left high school with, you think? Never give up, I always stop trying. It's never a bad life, it's a bad moment and I always find a way to come back better than I always left off so that's really it. You were such a top athlete in high school and year after year you would have so many fans who would come to the national stadium to see you compete and personally I always felt as if you were one of the most loved athletes at that level and not just Kingston College fans because that is expected because that's where you went to high school but just generally, neutrals included, coming through the system, did you feel that love or were there ever moments where you doubted it? Definitely there were moments that I doubted it but just being on the road interacting with people I even know and I still feel a love on the road so there are moments when I did doubt it but I always knew that people from all over, all stretchers of life, I always knew that the support was there. Any regrets from high school? I just probably wish I was a little more focused. Yeah, excellent. There were some aspects I even know that I think that needs to be worked on like for instance like strength that has always been an issue for me but and as I said I took it as a lesson and now I'm much more keen on working on aspects such as that. Because you've always been fast haven't you? It's interesting you talk about the strength though because you do come from a 400 background. I mean although it wouldn't be strength like it's more physical strength in the weight room stuff like that like in terms of my body. That's something you didn't like doing back in high school? Yeah but after all the years I've come a long way in there I'm more focused on getting stronger, getting fitter and keeping it like that. I can only imagine that when you were leaving high school and we see it so often now that there would have been offers for you to go pro. You went to university, Florida State University instead. Talk to me about that period, how difficult it was for you making that decision to go to school as opposed to going pro and why that decision because we see so many young athletes these days deciding to go pro right out of high school. I think everyone's journey is different at the time I had opportunities to attend other schools and to pursue a professional career but at the time I thought that it was the best option for me probably to go to school for a year or two get that experience on that level and come back and apply with my talents on the professional scene so that was really it and I just thought that I needed probably a golf in the transition and I thought that college would have been the right step. Yeah and so you went to FSU yeah what was that like? It was it was a great experience I always appreciate everyone there and I appreciate the time that I spent there but. Your career never took off there? Yeah it kind of didn't per se. The first two years there it was great. I was national runner-up in the 4x1 I was on that team the second year I was top 10 in the in the country in the 60 meters and the 200 indoor but then COVID. You're at 2130 and then I think 661. Yeah yeah I was yeah in fact I think you're at 20.88 200 indoors and 660. Yeah so yeah it started to everything started to shape into place and like me I'm not I wasn't the best indoor runner so for me to give give all results like that it was a for me a step in the right direction for what was supposed to be an amazing outdoor but because of COVID that didn't because the in the outdoor season didn't happen. And then you had the Achilles injury yeah and that was a difficult period of your time at FSU. Tell me a little bit about that what happened and the recovery process and how difficult it was for you? The injury happened my junior year junior year in university my first meet outdoor and I just came out of nowhere I was literally was 30 meters into the race and my Achilles just went so my season was over after that and it was just I did a surgery like a few days after and I was just focused on recovery after that. What was that period like how tough was it? I was it was difficult I was pretty much immobile I had to depend on others to give it to the simple things as such as going upstairs like I was pretty much I was pretty much immobile so and from going from like I'm going from trading every day giving my all on the track and to being completely immobile and learning how to walk again and learning how to run it was a really difficult period. And you were explaining to me that had you not done the surgery it could have been worse? Yeah I'd be out for I would have been completely immobile for over a year so the surgery like it was the best it was definitely the best option. Yeah the prognosis initially was it always that you would be able to come back and and you would be able to still have a solid track and field career? Yeah definitely because it was a it wasn't a full blown tear it was about 20 percent so with hard work and dedication yeah it was always thought that I could come back and come back even better. What was the support system like at the time because when you go through something like that and you're away from what you love and what you're accustomed to it can be extremely difficult so talk to me about your support system in that period and and whether you felt like you had enough around you? I think especially my coach at the time at university I think he tried but the college system is like it's really fast pace so even if he wanted to be there in ways that like he wanted to be it wasn't set up like that it was like touch and go like it was just touch and go it's a fast moving thing he gave me so Did you ever feel alone? Definitely definitely and it was a lot like it was a major decision as well to like just pack up and come back home and but you know I made another decision and made a sacrifice and stayed that extra year just to you know recover fully just to ensure that yeah it was everything was in place. Talk to me about the times you felt alone and how difficult those periods were? I was alone in a sense because I was alone in a sense but I wasn't really alone I always had people like here back home who always checked on me believed in me and even my teammates there and I always had a strong support system and it carried over into college so I wasn't that bad I just had to like do a lot of self-evaluation and just in myself be strong and just you know work on coming back like even just being able to walk like I took it a step at a time and you know set small goals I like I'd try to take five extra steps today taking extra steps tomorrow like even just that and just motivated myself and always thought about where I wanted to be not in the moment but a couple years from then. And that was different from when you were in Jamaica right because if you had an injury in Jamaica I would think that especially being a Kingston college athlete and a Kingston college star athlete that the problem might be you want people to go away rather than people being there for you consistently. Yeah but I mean it's a whole I've never experienced anything like that before I was on coaches for probably I was on coaches for probably a month I was in a boot for probably two months and then it was a whole different experience and being around people that you know love and care for care about you it's a whole different experience it was a whole different experience especially being so far away from home. Yeah I can just imagine you spoke about the decision you made to come back home and join the racers track club sounds to me like it was a relatively easy decision for you that given everything that had happened you felt okay maybe home is the best place to be what's that been like. It has been definitely it's an amazing experience being here and being around firstly a coaching staff and a head coach who probably believes in you more than you believe in yourself sometimes. And that's Glenn Mills. Yeah definitely he's a major a major part of why I'm even considered continuing track and coming back home so yeah I knew that once I was under his tutelage the sky is definitely the limit. You thought about stopping? Yeah I have but I've been doing track all my life from I was probably six years old so it was it wasn't an easy decision to stop at all but it did cross my mind. Yeah last season which was your first season back home and on the coach Mills you ran a couple of 10-4s which I personally thought was extremely good given what you had gone through how did you view the season that you had? I always always always um the expectations that I placed on myself they're always high always I've laughed it goes so to even go there I never but this time around I didn't place any expectations on myself I thought I just wanted to go through the season healthy or as healthy as possible and just getting just trying to get used to competing again and you know giving them all because I've always been a competitor and you know it was always last season was always trying to get back to that getting back that competitive edge. Is it tough mentally especially if you ever lose to athletes you think that you are ahead of and on the normal circumstances you would be beating and given your history um and even in your difficult moments and and your recovery stage and trying to come back does it get mentally draining in any way to have those defeats even as you work your way back? Definitely um as I said I have high expectations for myself and but I use it as motivation you know I always use it as motivation I always look back and after a meet I'd go back to practice I got a new person basically giving it that extra 10 percent that extra even that extra one percent each time I was trying to get better that's really it and trusting that sooner rather than later I'd be back to where I know I can be. Yeah what's the outlook for 2024 it's an olympic year? Same as always going out there competing and giving them all and just working hard staying focused and belief and just having self-belief and having belief in those around me to you know help me to get to where I need to be. Yeah um come February you're going to be 25 is it? Yeah at 25 years old do you still harbor the hopes and dreams that you did as a 16 17 18 year old of one day standing at the top of an olympic or a world championship podium and do you think you still have that quality in you? I definitely do um that even my coach always says that the talent is always there or it's just to stay just staying focused staying dedicated and having that drive and believing that you can definitely do what I've been doing so yeah definitely do and work into where those lofty goals. If you had to give some advice to a 12, 13, 14, 15 year old who is coming through the system now and and trying to find their way in this business that is track and field and sport in general what would you say to them? Really just enjoy the moment have fun keep those around you your friends your family those around you keep them close and really just have fun you know it's not you know one bad race doesn't define who you are one bad moment one injury how it doesn't matter how big or small that setback is just keep believing in yourself and you know just have that drive and that dedication and that work ethic and it will definitely you know bring you all the way. Yeah sounds amazing Javon Matheson by the way do you have any idea where we'll see you first this year? Um yeah I'll be if all goes according to plan I'll be at the camp alone classics for um opening with the 400 meters I've probably a few others to to um competing before you know going down into my pet events. All right we look forward to that Javon Matheson it's been a pleasure thank you very much.