By Ariel Sax
Jordin Andrade, a 2016 Olympian for Cape Verde, won the men’s 400-meter hurdles Friday at the Oregon Twilight Meet with a time of 50.88 seconds, slower than his personal 400-meter hurdle record of 49.24 – a time that motivated and frustrated him at the same time.
“It’s just killing me that I can’t break that barrier,” said Andrade, who runs for Seattle Speed. “Because it’s so fast but just not fast enough.”
Andrade’s biggest goal of the season is to run a sub-49. But his time isn’t fully focused on breaking this personal record – his time is divided. Keeping himself financially stable is his main focus. “Including track, I got five jobs that I do every day,” he said. “I’ve got a very busy schedule. ”
Some of Andrade’s jobs include coaching, running swim meets, working in a family owned business and, on top of that, he just recently received his real estate license. Focusing on his training to improve his race model is a challenge, to say the least.
After hitting one hurdle in his last race at the Mt. Sac meet, he said, his race pattern and time was compromised. However, in comparison to the Mt. Sac meet and this race, he improved.
“I came out today and executed that perfectly,” he said. “I had the perfect race model that I want. Now I just have to put some speed behind it, and I’m good.”
On top of Andrade’s jam-packed life outside of the track, he still remains motivated and grateful for all who have stood by his side and continue to support him.
“I don’t just go through the motions with anything – I whip my tail off,” said Andrade. “I’m very thankful for all these people allowing me to continue my dream of running track and field.”
Finishing second was Ryan Rosenau with a time of 52.49, a half a second off his personal record. Rosenau was pleased with his time, partly because an injury had kept him from racing for the last three weeks.
“It was a minor setback,” he said.
This was not only his first race back, but it was his first time racing at Hayward Field. Both Rosenau and Andrade will be heading off to the Portland Twilight next week for the next meet of their season.
