I had the honor to sit down and interview with one of the fastest human beings in the world along with his family. It was indeed a pleasure. As a matter fact that young man is only 10-years-old and he’s the fastest 10-year-old in the world in the 400 meters. One might imagine that a young man with such great talents would be boisterous, egotistical, and just a plain old jerk. However, I’m here to tell you he is as far away from that as the East is from the West. His parents, Omar Thomas, Sr., a banker, and his mother Zamera Thomas, an educator, have made sure that Omar Jr. has the utmost respect and he is always willing to say thank you to those who lend a hand; he is a role model for his younger sister, Seven. Omar, Jr. is an example that other people, young, old and in between can see that great possibilities still exist. Not only is he so respectful, the young man is as grateful to others who have helped him along way as he is humble. During our interview I was moved to tears because of his genuineness and innocence, noted throughout the interview. However, one of his statements was and I quote, “I don’t know how to show off, I use stay humble.” Omar became interested in track when he saw another one of the fastest humans in the world run, Usain Bolt. He told his parents at five that he wanted to run like him because he liked it. Mom said
that her immediate response was, “no you got to run better than him.” Both of Omar’s parents ran track and both say that Omar is better than they were. His mother attest to the fact that she and his daddy had put him in several different sports; however, his love was in running and running he has done. His coach at the Fort Lauderdale Track Club admits that he knew he had something special with Omar. Coach Keith Morgan, who has been coaching for over 25 years and has had some great athletes, said it with a broad smile and his chest out, “I knew he was something when he set records at eight-years-old. I knew we had something.” When he broke the record of the 400 meters in the semifinals at the AAU Junior Track Meet at 56.58, he came right back in the finals to better his time at 55.06. Coach Morgan continued, “when Omar came to us from another program, I just wanted to treat him like I do all the young men. I wanted him to understand that he had to to be a man to be special to be respectful and that’s our concern; however, the work was already done by his parents. This is what makes our program so awesome: the coaches and the parents are on the same team, and we want the best for our student athletes.” It is without any fabrication or pretense that Omar‘s family wants the best, not only for Omar, but for every student athlete involved in the Fort Lauderdale Track Club program. When I asked Omar if he had anything that he would say to the young athletes he said, “If you want to be the best you have to work hard, real hard; nothing is gonna fall out the tree for you! You have to work real hard.” Please see the interview with Omar at the Westside Gazette Jus a Lil Bit it on YouTube
