Ackera Nugent, the former NCAA 100m hurdles champion and fierce rival of Masai Russell, has made a bold move that could reshape her career. After a challenging 2025 season clouded by inconsistency and mental fatigue, the Jamaican star has parted ways with her coach from the University of Arkansas, Chris Johnson. And now, she’s already taken a path that aligns with her goal – to rediscover her love for the sport that defines her. That path leads her back to where it all began for her – Jamaica.

Track and field insider and Jamaican 400m specialist Ricardo Chambers recently took to his YouTube channel, Sports Chambers, and revealed Nugent’s return to her homeland. Chambers claimed, “The news is that Ackera Nugent, the world indoor 60m hurdles bronze medalist, is no longer training in the United States of America at Arkansas. In fact, she is now training at the Glen Mills’ Racers Track Club in Kingston, Jamaica.” 

According to Chambers, this move is unsurprising and almost expected, given that Ackera Nugent had detailed an incredibly long note on Instagram in September after her lacklustre result in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. “We all know that feeling when you no longer have that love for the sport anymore and you’re just holding on because it was your first true love. There were days when I didn’t want to do this anymore, but I showed up. The Lord gave me things that I didn’t even think I would receive this year because of how out of it I was.”

Continuing in the same post, she detailed her feelings, “A lot of people might think I need a new coach or new management, but when a great athlete is not feeling the sport and not trusting the process as much, it makes it hard.” Despite her tribulations, she thanked her faith for what she had been able to achieve this season. The 2025 season brought in impressive laurels for the 22-year-old. The search for what you lost begins within. For Nugent, that safe place which holds her soul is where she calls home, and her humble beginnings.

Even Rob Smith from Coach’s Desk TV believed that it was a necessary move. Through his YouTube channel, Smith suggested that the coaches at Arkansas weren’t really on the same page with Nugent in terms of her objectives in the sport. This drift further widened when Ackera Nugent failed to make it to the finals at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. While she got the bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing in the 60m hurdles with a clock in time of 7.74s, Nugent was unable to repeat it at the Tokyo World Championships. She finished 9th in the 100m hurdles semifinals, ending the race in 12.63s. This marked her need to change teams.

Coach Rob Smith had another explanation as to why Nugent chose to return to Jamaica. Glen Mills, as legendary as he is, he is evolving. From upholding a reputation that portrayed him as the mentor for male legends, Mills has ventured into coaching female athletes as well. Take, for example, Tobi Amusan, the Nigerian athlete.

Training with Glen Mills could work for Ackera Nugent

Tobi Amusan is the world record holder in the 100m hurdles. She ran the race in 12.12s at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, becoming the first Nigerian athlete to be a world champion and world record holder in an athletics event. At the 2025 Tokyo World Championships, Amusan secured the silver medal in the event. Of course, the credit went to Mills. Following the win, Amusan said, “The first two months were really tough, but the hard work paid off. He is an amazing coach. He trusted me, he believed in me, and alongside my senior coach, they worked hand in hand. This medal is for them.”

When Ackera Nugent said she wasn’t trusting the process much, the statement signalled a need for change. She knows that she’s capable of dominating the sport. But it just wasn’t her time yet. However, all that can change with Glen Mills. He has an impressive list of successful names comprising the likes of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, and Oblique Seville. But with the addition of Amusan to the Racer Track Club’s roster, that storyline has changed. Now, it’s going to get more layers with the addition of Nugent.

Mills is known for his detailed attention to sprint mechanics. And Nugent revealed that she needed to control her speed between the hurdles first. She claimed, “Once I tweak some things to get the required control, it’s over because I have great top-end speed.” Training with Mills revolves around mental preparation, race-pace awareness, handling phases of acceleration to maintain top speed, and ensuring that the runners know about their race distribution. Needless to say, these refinements would work in favor of Ackera Nugent. And training alongside Amusan would definitely prepare her to take on the likes of Masai Russell in the near future.