After achieving personal best marks in both long and triple jumps at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville last weekend, Tennessee’s Carey McLeod believes his best this season is yet to come as he aims to seal a spot on Jamaica’s team to the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
The 21-year-old former Kingston College star won the silver medal in the long jump with a personal best of 8.25m on Friday night and followed up Saturday with his personal best jump to win the triple jump. His 17.17m, was more than a half-metre better than second-place Christian Edwards of Alabama (16.64m).
Each mark is the third-best in the world this year and McLeod believes things are shaping up nicely for what he believes will be his first Olympic campaign.
“All my preparation is for the upcoming Olympic Games so it’s going to be special as we gear up for trials and the Olympics,” he said. “I’m a lot more technical and I am faster which I need down the runway.”
His improvement at Tennessee has been significant but he credits his time at Kingston College for providing him with the platform from which he now excels.
“Having the right foundation from high school to now has played a huge part in my development over these years and, of course, being a student of the events is key,” he said, still undecided about which event he favours.
“I can’t say which one I prefer because I love both just the same; the triple is just a little more fun than the long jump,” he said.
His world-class performances aside, McLeod said he is encouraged by the number of emerging young Jamaican jumpers.
Fellow Jamaican Ryan Brown, a junior at Arkansas, jumped 8.12 for third at the SECs while Virginia’s Owayne Owens jumped a season-best 16.48m to win the triple jump at the ACC Championships on the weekend.
Adding eight-metre jumpers, 2019 World Champion Tajay Gayle and Tennessee’s Wayne Pinnock to the mix, McLeod believes Jamaica is poised to do great things in the jumps in the future.
“We all are the younger generation coming up in the sport. We have goals of representing our country, so this is a very good look for the country as we could have multiple people on the podium,” he said.
“I can happily say we are on the rise to taking over in the jumps in the years to come.”
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
After bruising season Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce finding healing in fashion in Italy
After a grueling season battling injury while facing the fastest women on the planet, Jamaican track icon star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took some time to enjoy some of the finer things in life at the Bottega Veneta fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 in Milan, Italy on Saturday.
The two-time Olympic 100m champion, known for her colourful wigs and trendsetting couture, was among a galaxy of celebrities gathered for the occasion that included writer, fashion editor, and New York Times best-selling author Derek Blasberg, Erykah Badu as well as Sabato de Samo, Gucci’s new Head of Creative.
The five-time world 100m champion is still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August as well as a longstanding knee injury that significantly impacted her preparation last season. But what better way is there to heal the body and soul than immersing one’s self in the world of high fashion.
How entertainer DMajor's long-standing relationship with Usain Bolt gave life to latest song "Unstoppable"
Jamaican entertainer DMajor has taken the music scene by storm with his latest release, "Unstoppable," produced by none other than Usain Bolt's A Team label. The track hit the airwaves on Friday, September 22, 2023, and has been making waves ever since. However, what makes this collaboration truly special is the long-standing relationship between DMajor and the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt.
In an exclusive interview, DMajor revealed the story behind "Unstoppable" and how his journey with Bolt and the Racers Track Club paved the way for this remarkable musical partnership.
"I've known Usain since around 2006 or 2007," DMajor began, reminiscing about his early days with the sprinting legend. "What most people probably don't know about me is that I'm a lover of track and field. To stay in shape, at one point, I was training with the Racers Track Club around that same time. So, you know, I would have been all about keeping the lungs up and training with the Racers track club as my fitness regimen."
Back then, DMajor and Bolt never discussed music as a common interest. Bolt's love for music was no secret, but it wasn't until 2023 that the stars aligned for a collaboration. DMajor explained, "This year, in 2023, I had an idea to do a song, you know, one of those celebratory songs for championships. Somehow, the inspiration just hit me, and I had put down a melody on my phone."
However, a twist of fate nearly derailed DMajor's musical vision. "Now that phone just crashed, and I lost the melody," he lamented. But fate had other plans. A conversation with a friend reignited DMajor's creative spark. "I was reasoning with a brethren one day, and I was giving him the idea, and he was like, 'yow, all Bolt you could have linked on that, you know.' And I said, 'You know, you’re right.'"
The stars continued to align as DMajor found himself at Big Yaad Studios, celebrating engineer Kamal's birthday, where he ran into Nugent Walker (NJ), Usain Bolt's business manager. DMajor shared his idea with NJ, who embraced it without hesitation. "NJ was just like instantly (sold), like no hesitation. He was like, 'So Major when you want to do it?' Just like that, and myself, NJ, and Kamal decided upon the following Sunday."
The timing couldn't have been more perfect. DMajor continued, "That Sunday was when the 100-meter finals were on at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August. This is like a month and a half after I got the initial idea. We never got a medal, but still, you know, so you say everything is tying in."
As they worked on the track, NJ and DMajor knew they had something special in the making. DMajor explained, "NJ decided that the 22nd would be a good release date, and it was, in fact, released on the 22nd."
DMajor expressed his gratitude to the A-Team, NJ, and Usain Bolt for making this dream a reality. "Big up to the whole team, the whole A team," he said. "NJ said when he sent it to Bolt, he instantly fell in love with the track. So it's just a blessing overall, you know, for everything to say how everything that's come to fruition just from a simple idea and the challenges of losing the audio on the phone. We still came out with a track that we really believe in and represents what I was initially going for."
"Unstoppable" has already taken flight, released on Friday, and is quickly gaining momentum. DMajor summed up the collaboration with a smile, "I guess that happens when you link up with the king of speed, you know, things happen fast. So it's a great thing, man. Unstoppable. Oh gosh, man, stadium status."
Former BAAA President Alpheus Finlayson passes away at 76
Veteran sports advocate, broadcaster and former BAAA (Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations) president Alpheus Finlayson has died, aged 76, just weeks after the death of his wife, Dawn.
Finlayson served as co-captain of the St John’s University Track Team, President of the Pioneer’s Sporting Club, and of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association from 1989 to 1997.
He was also elected Vice President of the Central American Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation as well as Vice President of the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Area Athletic Associations.
It was during Finlayson’s administration of the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association in 1992 that the first Bahamian Olympic medal in Track & Field was won, and in 1995 and 1997 the first three World Championship medals were won.
Finlayson, affectionately nicknamed “Hawk,” made history when he became the first Bahamian elected to the 27-member Council of the IAAF, the World governing body of Track & Field.
He also held the distinction of being the only Bahamian to attend every IAAF World Championships, from Helsinki in 1983 to London in 2017.
His book From Vancouver to Athens: Finlayson Fifty Years of Bahamian International Track & Field Competition is a best-seller.
He also authored weekly columns on “Track World” from 1980 to 1986 in The Tribune and produced a television show on ZNS called Track World with Alpheus Finlayson. Finlayson also wrote international newsletters with the same name.
He also hosted the weekly radio show called Track World with Alpheus Finlayson on Guardian Radio 96.9 FM.
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