Tobago Correspondent
Forced out of the classroom for almost an academic year due to a debilitating back injury, Bishop’s High School student and sprinter Malique Young has learned that the race is not always for the swift.
The Zenith athlete competes in the 200m and 400m events, but injuries have threatened to limit his potential.
Despite the pain and the challenge of catching up, Malique believes he is still on track to achieve his sporting and academic goals. The 17-year-old aspires to become a mechanical engineer and dreams of representing Trinidad and Tobago at the Olympics.
But prolonged absences from school and training have caused significant physical and mental strain.
The injury first manifested in Form Three, forcing him to miss a term of school. Another flare-up in Form Four resulted in him missing two crucial terms as he selected his subjects for the important examinations.
“To be honest, when it first occurred, I didn’t take it too nice. It knock me down real bad, but I didn’t give up. Every night I prayed,” he said.
The athlete suffered another incident in March while at school, affecting his preparation for examinations, which began in April.
At the height of the pain, Malique said he was forced to take painkillers every four hours or he would be unable to sit for extended periods.
“It was very challenging mentally because being away from school, I was doubting myself that I would have been able to catch back up and write all eight of my subjects and fulfil the passes,” he said.
Despite suffering an episode during one of his examinations and experiencing discomfort during others, Malique overcame the physical hurdle and passed all his subjects.
He was allowed an additional 20 minutes for each examination and sat in a room by himself, where he could stretch his body if the discomfort became unbearable.
His mother, Melanie, told Guardian Media that success in his examinations was the least of their concerns. She said a full recovery from the ailment was what they were praying for.
“Applying that academic pressure on that physical strain would not have been the best combination. So for us as a family, myself, his dad, his siblings, our priority focus would have been his health,” she said.
Malique said he was extremely elated when the results were released.
“Celebration started from when the portal open. I was very excited. I called mummy and daddy, showed them the results, they were very excited as well. I know because of the journey I went through, it was very relieving to know the Lord helped me to come through this point in time and I can move forward with my studies.”
Leaning heavily on his faith, Malique believes God only gives His strongest soldiers the toughest battles.
His athletic background has also given him the strength to never run away from a challenge, keeping him focused on the finish line.
The post Against the odds, first appeared on CNC3.
