By Edward Burnette
After a third-place finish at the Commonwealth Games in early May, Natoya Goule of Jamaica was simply thankful that a “stick in her leg,” as she referred to it, hadn’t curtailed her efforts to run Friday in the national 800 meters at the Prefontaine Classic. The euphemism, she said, roughly translates to having discomfort.
That discomfort kept her from running in a time of less than two minutes.
Goule finished in a time of 2:00.84 and beat second-place finisher, Stephanie Brown, by one second to take the win. “I wanted to go at least 1:59, but two minutes is not bad,” she said. “I think my coach will be disappointed. But I have to give thanks.”
This continues a stretch of successful racing for Goule in this distance. In addition to her performance at the Commonwealth Games, Goule also finished second in the Cambridge Adidas Boost Games in the 800 meters.
“I am very confident after this. I ran from the back and still won,” said Goule. “I feel good and just need to go back and train. I haven’t got a solid training in since I don’t even know when. Next week I can get a solid practice in then I have other races.”
Up until the break to the rail coming around the final turn, Brown had led the pack for the majority of the race, spreading out the runners and pushing the slower than expected group. Through 600 meters, she led in a time of 1:30.05, but failed to hold the lead over Goule. Brown finished in a time of 2:01.84.
“I thought it [the race] was a little confusing. I’m coming from the 1,500, more of a strength event, and if I’m comfortable and can lead the first 200, I know it came out slow,” said Brown.
Down the final stretch in front of the west grandstand at Hayward Field, Goule caught and ultimately passed Brown.
“I just rolled with the punches and went for the win, but I put a little too much effort into that last 50 meters,” said Brown.
However, her time and performance have Brown feeling confident going into future races. As for a goal, Brown said: “Running another 2:01 and making that a staple. That I’m in front of these races makes me really proud of myself, and I’m excited to compete the rest of the season.” Her next race will be in the 1,500 meters at the Portland Track Festival.
