Emanuel Gisi (text) and Stefan Bohrer (photos)
There’s something Jason Joseph is extremely good at: scaring his mother, Susan. Then he lurks behind a corner or a door and jumps out with a great shout. And because Joseph, at 22 years of age, is part of a generation that has the cell phone ready in every situation in life, there are now countless films of it.
There is one more thing that Jason Joseph is extremely good at: hurdles sprint. He’s already the Swiss record holder in the 110 m hurdles and has long since escaped the national competition. That is why the Basel bidder now has bigger plans: He wants to conquer the world. “He’s a huge talent, has incredible potential,” says his trainer Claudine Müller and expresses what everyone in the Swiss athletics scene knows. “Athletic, but also mental.” And he dares something. “I want Olympic gold,” says Joseph. Not yet today, not yet in Tokyo on Tuesday, he would be satisfied with a final qualification. But tomorrow, sometime in the future, it should be ready, in Paris in 2024 or in Los Angeles in 2028 at the latest.
That is easy to say, of course. But if you sit down with the Basel bidder for a few minutes and listen, you will quickly notice: Behind the relaxed and funny personality, who seems as if nothing can disturb her, there is a determined athlete. Joseph is not a dreamer who just tells something. Just as he rushes unstoppably over one hurdle after the other on the track, he is someone who will do everything to achieve his goal.
“I mean, who else goes to the US for three months and doesn’t even look at a city?” Asks William Reais, 200m European champion in the U23 category and Joseph’s best friend. In winter Joseph got the chance to join the training group of US sprint guru Rana Reider for a few weeks. He went to Florida – and initially never returned. “I quickly realized that that wasn’t enough,” he says. «In two or three weeks you can’t change anything much. My mother was right about that. Once again.”
Joseph listens to mommy
Which brings us back to Susan Gross. Joseph’s mother is not only a bit scared, but above all: his most important advisor. “She has an unbeatable feeling for me,” says Joseph. “She was never a professional athlete, never came into contact with athletics before. And yet she knows what is best for me. For me it sometimes takes a while to see it. And then I realize that someone has already told me. ” From the beginning his mother had told him: Either you are going for a few months or it is not worth it.
Jason Joseph’s career is a family affair. Mother Susan, born in Eastern Switzerland, is responsible for administration and media work, while father Zephirin, from the Caribbean, St. Lucia, is involved as a masseur. «He taught me a lot. That I shouldn’t underestimate people, for example, »says Joseph. «That everyone brings something that is worth listening to.
Hurdler reveals playlist: This music motivates Joseph before a competition(00:39)
And he said to me: ‘At the end of the day, your opponents don’t care how much you’ve suffered. You don’t know what your competition is doing either. So one more series, one more exercise, one more repetition. ‘“Perhaps that sums up Jason Joseph’s personality quite well. A more respectful listener than the 1.93 m man from Oberwil BL is difficult to find. A harder worker too.
But the family doesn’t stop there. William Reais may not be related by blood to the Josephs. For mother Susan he is nevertheless “like a second son.” When Susan Gross talks about trainer Claudine Müller, it sounds like a family member.
Later breakthrough
Müller had a lot to do in the last few months. Because this summer, the family business Joseph suddenly faced headwinds. After returning from Reider’s camp, things don’t work at all, the times at the start of the season are poor for Joseph’s standards. “He was physically very fit,” says Müller. “He had a lot of strength and the feeling that he was ready.” But he doesn’t make it, the 13.29 seconds he ran last summer are a long way off. “We needed a little time.”
The button does not come off until late, at the Swiss championships at the end of June, Joseph makes the Olympic qualification clear. “Claudine has done a tremendous job,” says Gross. That will be the challenge in the future: to make the family business compatible with outside influences.
Because at some point, that’s the plan, Jason Joseph wants to show up suddenly, run away from everyone and scare the rest of the athletics world. He is known to be extremely good at this.
Hurdle star is shoe freak: These are Jason Joseph’s most expensive shoes(01:22)
Summer Olympics in Tokyo
The 32nd Summer Olympics will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021 in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. All information about the opening, broadcast, competition dates, disciplines, innovations, venues and mascots can be found in the large overview.
The 32nd Summer Olympics will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021 in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. All information about the opening, broadcast, competition dates, disciplines, innovations, venues and mascots can be found in the large overview.
Everything about the Olympics