When you have a 51-year-old running a time close to his age while trying to make Jamaica’s 400m team for the World Championships, only divine intervention could have made it possible, some would say.

But Ian Weakly was not deterred by his age as he went up against his opponent, among them Father Time, who remains undefeated. No doubt Weakly has the heart of a champion, but his legs could not carry, and in the end, he finished his heat in 53.60 seconds—and outside of qualification.

What would have prompted Weakly? He believed his participation was spiritually ordained.

“That’s just God. It’s just really a blessing that sometimes we don’t know our journey and our story gonna go,” he told Our Today.

“But God have a way of, you know, doing some things and just have to trust him and trust the process and knowing that look, if you have faith, you work hard, opportunity will come. I’m working hard consistently, and an opportunity like this came like a week ago in my spirit.”

But don’t be fooled, he was no slouch. Weakly has been one of Jamaica’s best 400m hurdlers, winning bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and silver at the CAC Games in 2006. He has a personal best time of 48.55 for the hurdles in 2003 and won the Doha Diamond League success in 2005.

He was a semi-finalist in the 400 hurdles at the 2000 Olympic Games and was Jamaica’s National champion in 2001.

However, his 53.60 clocking is not close to his personal best of 46.23 in the flat 400m, which he achieved 26 years ago in 1999 when he was half his current age.

“It’s a beautiful opportunity for me to run back in the National Stadium. That means a lot to me, considering running here thirty years ago, and I never thought that in my life that God would have opened up some doors for me at my age,” Weakly pointed out.

“So first, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I could say that I run in the National Stadium. It’s a privilege. I think it’s a historical moment. So that’s the main reason,” he added. “The second reason is, I’ve been running decent all year, running 51 seconds consistently, and I feel like with the environment and running in my country of my birth, I could have found the necessary extra.”

The former St Elizabeth Technical High School star, who won the Carifta Games gold in 1992 and 1993, has represented Jamaica at the highest level in the World Championships and Olympic Games.