It was a Jamaican 1-2-3 finish in the men's long jump final on Wednesday night.
Carey McLeod was crowned 2023 long jump champion as the 2023 NCAA Division 1 National Outdoor Track and Field Championships got underway in Austin, Texas on Wednesday.
McLeod led a University of Arkansas 1-2 finish as Wayne Pinnock won the silver medal while Jordan Turner of the University of Kentucky made it a Jamaican 1-2-3 when he won bronze.
From a totally Jamaican perspective it was a Kingston College 1-2 with Calabar High third.
McLeod, the 2023 NCAA Indoor champion achieved the winning mark of 8.26m in the opening round equalling the facility record set by Steffin McCarter of Texas in 2021. Pinnock, the 2022 champion, followed leapt out to 8.15m for silver with Turner only two centimetres behind with 8.13m.
McLeod is the sixth Razorback to win a NCAA Outdoor long jump while Pinnock won the program’s sixth silver medal.
Meanwhile, Arkansas’ Phillip Lemonious was the fastest through to the finals of the 110m hurdles with a personal best 13.28. Fellow Jamaican Giano Roberts, representing Clemson University was also among the automatic qualifiers when he finished second in semi-final three with a personal best of 13.35.
Rasheem Brown of the Cayman Islands, a senior at the University of Tennessee also ran a personal best of 13.53 to advance to the finals that will be run on Friday.
It wasn’t all good news for Caribbean athletes however as Clemson’s Tarees Rhoden did not finish his 800m semi-final after leading at the end of the opening lap while Navasky Anderson struggled to a third place finish in his semi-final heat but his time of 1:48.79 was not fast enough to see him advance to the Friday final.
Rhoden will have a shot at a 4x400m relay medal after helping Clemson to a time of 2:59.78 that saw the advance to the final.
Barbados’ Rasheeme Griffith, a junior at Tennessee, ran 49.00, the third-fastest time going into the final of the 400m hurdles. He finished third in the last of three and fastest of the semi-final. Alabama Chris Robinson won the heat in 48.79 with Baylor University’s Nathaniel Ezekiel finishing second in 48.95.
Jamaica’s national 400m champion JeVaughn Powell is through to the final of the 400m with a time of 45.02. The University of Florida junior’s time was the seventh fastest to qualify.
Justin Robinson of Arizona State ran a time of 44.54 to lead all qualifiers into the final set for Friday.
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Jamaica's champion Traves Smikle primed for Diamond League debut after impressive JAI victory
Jamaican discus thrower Traves Smikle is riding high on confidence after a convincing win at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational and is now setting his sights on the upcoming Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morocco, where he will face a formidable field of world-class competitors.
Smikle, who departs the island on Wednesday for the prestigious Diamond League event on Sunday, expressed both excitement and determination about his first appearance in the series. "Encountering a discus field like the one in Rabat for my first Diamond League meet is pretty exciting and crazy at the same time," said Smikle, who has had five wins on the trot this season. "Not many of the big names are missing and I just need to go out there and compete. It’s a game of distance and these guys are good quality throwers, so I just need to hold my own and compete."
His recent performance at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational demonstrated Smikle's capabilities, as he threw an impressive 66.89m to secure victory over his compatriot Fedrick Dacres. Reflecting on this achievement, Smikle emphasized the importance of consistency and translating his current form to European competitions.
"Before coming into this competition, I felt a little tired during the training sessions in the days before," Smikle noted following his win on Saturday. "Coming out today and having another 66m throw is pretty respectable. I am working on my consistency; what I need to do now is when I go to Europe, I translate this sort of performance and better to be competitive among the field."
Looking ahead to his aspirations for the Olympics in Paris this summer, Smikle is focused on pushing his limits and achieving greater distances. "I want to get 68, 69, 70m in a stadium," he explained. "That is what I am working on."
When asked about the steps needed to reach these targets, Smikle highlighted the importance of dedication, patience, and consistency in training. "It’s going to take more work, patience, and greater consistency," emphasized Smikle, who, so far this season, has won with throws of 67.57m, 67.83m, 65.96m, 66.03m and 66.89m. "If you can build up your level of consistency, then at some point your upper limit must get higher."
Matthew Boling thrilled by Jamaica Athletics Invitational experience: "Everyone cheered and it got me hyped..."
Rising American sprinter Matthew Boling expressed his excitement and enthusiasm after competing in the Jamaica Athletics Invitational on Saturday, where he ran a season's best time of 44.98 in the 400m.
Boling, who finished second behind Great Britain's Matthew Hudson Smith, spoke to Sportsmax.TV about his first-time experience in Jamaica and the atmosphere that fueled his performance.
"Yea, I loved the crowd. I like my little intro, everyone cheered and it got me hyped," Boling shared. "I was in the zone and I had to beat my chest a little bit."
Despite his impressive run, Boling indicated that he plans to rest before the upcoming USA trials, hinting at a potential return to Jamaica in the future. "I’d love to come back," he mentioned, reflecting on the lively reception he received from the Jamaican fans.
Regarding his overall season and the challenge of competing in both the 200m and 400m events, Boling expressed satisfaction with his progress, hinting that he could deliver something special at the USA Olympic trials in late June. "I think it’s been going great; the 400m and the 200m seems to be the way I’m heading this year," Boling stated. "I’ve run 10.06, 20.03 and 44.98 so far so I think I’m getting in good shape and getting ready to bust something big out at trials."
Acknowledging the difficulty of taking on the 200m/400m challenge, Boling maintained a positive outlook. "It’s pretty tough but I’m young I’ll recover quick," he remarked with a big smile, demonstrating his determination and optimism for the upcoming competitions.
Christian Coleman eyes USA's potential to break Jamaica's 4x100m relay world record: "It's really not that difficult..."
Christian Coleman, the American sprinter and member of the USA's 4x100m relay team, is confident in the team's ability to challenge and potentially break Jamaica's long-standing 4x100m relay world record of 36.84 seconds, set at the 2012 London Olympics by Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt.
Speaking after a press conference in Jamaica last week Thursday before he participated in the Jamaica Athletics Invitational on Saturday, Coleman emphasized the USA's recent relay performance of 37.40 at recent World Relays in the Bahamas, despite key athletes like himself, Fred Kerley, and Erriyon Knighton missing from the team.
A member of the USA team that ran 37.10 at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Coleman suggested that his country’s top sprinters executing the essential elements of relay running like smoother baton exchanges, could lead to significant improvements.
"I think it's really not that difficult. It's not that hard. We make it a lot harder than it needs to be," Coleman explained. "If we just space those zones out, everybody focuses on their job, I think we have all the speed and talent to tackle that world record."
Coleman's confidence in the team's abilities underscores their ambitions for the upcoming track and field season, especially at the Olympic Games in Paris where the USA will start as hot favourites to win the gold medal.
While breaking records isn't the primary focus, Coleman believes that with proper execution and teamwork, they can challenge historic achievements like Jamaica's 4x100m world record.
With that in mind, what leg does Coleman believe is the best fit for him?
"We talk about it all the time because I feel like I can do first leg just because I know what I'm gonna do. I feel like when I do my thing, it takes a lot of the pressure off the rest of the team because I'm gonna get us out and I know when the stick is moving through that zone and second leg is going down the back-stretch and we already in the lead, everybody else can just kind of relax and just bring it home.
“But I feel if we just going in terms of trying to just run our absolute best time, I don't know if it might be suitable for me to run first leg, ‘because I feel like I'm full well capable of running any leg. I trust myself more than anybody when it comes to working the zone and getting it through. So I don't know, second, third, fourth, whatever they need me at, obviously I'm gonna do it.”
On Saturday, Coleman was fifth in the 200m in 20.46. Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes claimed victory with a sizzling run of 19.96. The USA’s Fred Kerley was second in 20.17 with Frenchman Pablo Mateo not far behind in 20.20 for third.
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