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Taylor, Anderson chasing “greatness”
September 17, 2025
TOKYO, Japan:
Where Jamaica is known for its dominance in the sprints, the pair of Tyrice Taylor and Navasky Anderson are hoping they can bring a new wave of excitement for the men's 800 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The duo have achieved a major milestone for Jamaica when they advanced to the semi-finals of the middle distance event.
It was a composed performance from both athletes as they did just enough to earn automatic qualifying spots.
Running in heat four, Taylor cruised to a time of 1:45.13 to finish third in his race.
In similar fashion, Anderson timed his race to perfection to place third in heat six, finishing in 1:44.87.
Speaking after the round, Taylor said he is chasing greatness as he is determined to take on the world one round at a time.
"Just greatness. That's all I can say. It's all about greatness," he said.
"It's a step by step so the goal is still always to move on to the next round and I think I did just that. The plan my coach had for me, was to just have fun and try to make it to the next round as usual."
Taylor, who is in the form of his life having set a new national record earlier this year, said his goal is to prove Jamaica's growing prowess on the world stage.
"I'm just trying to put Jamaica out there and to show that Jamaica has good 800m runners just like the sprints, I'm just here to do that."
His words were echoed by teammates Anderson, who believes they can inspire the next generation of Jamaican athletes to compete in the 800m.
WE ARE GOOD IN ANYTHING
Anderson has been championing the development of Jamaica's middle distance programme and believes the talent is there for the island to compete at the highest level.
"I'm really excited about that," he said. "If you look back on past interviews for the the last few years, that's something I've been working towards.
"I've always been encouraging 800m guys in Jamaica to don't go to the 400m but stick to the 800m if that's their event. Let's push forward with that because I know we as Jamaicans, we are good in anything we do whatever we do."
The semi-finals for the men's 800m are set for Thursday at 7:45 a.m. Jamaica time.
