Julian Forte (right) in pain during the men's 200 metres final at the 14th World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this year. Forte led for 160 metres before coming to almost a walk with what appeared to be a muscle injury. He finished last in 21.00 seconds. - File

Leighton Levy, STAR Writer

The disappointment of his lastplace finish at the World Junior Championships now firmly behind him, rising sprinter Julian Forte is aiming to break the 10, and 20-second barriers in the short sprints for the coming track season.

The Wolmer's Boys graduate, who turns 20 on January 7, 2013 and who now trains with some of the world's best sprinters at the MVP Track Club, was just metres away from what was to be his crowning moment as a junior, a 200-metre gold medal at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain, in July. Forte had begun to pull away from the chasing pack when he suffered a hamstring injury which saw him drop from first to last over the last 40 metres of the race, robbing him of the opportunity to be a World Junior champion.

But as he prepares for the coming season, Forte says he would rather not dwell on the past.

"Naturally, I'd like to have seen what time I would have run, as well as win a World Junior medal, but I can't dwell on the past, because I can't do anything about it," he said.

20-second barrier

He does feel, however, that had he not been injured, he may have joined Usain Bolt as the only juniors to break the 20-second barrier over the 200 metres, or at the very least clock a time in the region of 20.00 seconds.

"I would have eventually got there, if not at the World Juniors then certainly at one of the meets in Europe where I would not have to run the rounds," he surmised.

Now that he is in his first preseason as a senior, he is finding that things are bit more challenging. Training, he says, is a bit tougher than before.

"Background training is going well. No complications, just a minor shin problem, nothing too serious. I find that now I am a bit more explosive, there's more weights work, as I am trying to get stronger, but flexi-bility has become a challenge."

He already knows that the tough training regime is to prepare him for the challenges of taking on a deepening pool of sprinters locally, especially in the 200 metres, an event in which Jamaica won all three medals at the 30th Olympiad in London, England, this past summer.

Then in addition to the Bolts, Blakes, and Weirs of this world, Forte will be facing the likes of Nickel Ashmeade and Jason Young, who have both run 19.8s this past season.

"I use all that as motivation. Nothing comes without a little patience," he said. "That's why I am putting in the extra work to try to get there (faster times) as soon as possible. I am trying a little harder, trying to do as best as possible."

His coach, Stephen Francis, has also told him that his programme will see him running more 100-metre sprints this season, which brings him face to face with an even deeper pool of talent that includes clubmates Asafa Powell, Nesta Carter and others.

The targets he has set for himself this season are carry-overs from last season, and the challenges that lay ahead can only make him stronger, he said. "They will also help me with my patience," he concluded.