McLeod clocked 13.22 seconds in a tightly contested final, finishing fifth behind Rasheed Broadbell (13.18), Orlando Bennett (13.18), and defending Olympic champion Hansle Parchment (13.19). Tyler Mason also posted 13.22, highlighting the depth of talent in Jamaica's sprint hurdles scene, with only 0.04 seconds separating the top five finishers.
Reflecting on his performance, McLeod said, “I am overjoyed, to be honest. I gave myself a fighting chance to come out here and make the finals. I knew what I was walking into; like I said last night (Saturday), this race was going to be electric, and I was very excited to race with Parchment and Broadbell and these guys again competitively.”
Despite his joy, McLeod expressed a deep sense of personal struggle over the past few years, during which he failed to qualify for the team to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the World Championships in Oregon in 2022. He did not compete in the trials in 2023. “I think you know what I have been through over the years and how hard I had to fight to really get back into this situation, and I have never felt this happy and this amount of joy in a long time,” he said, fighting back tears. “So, the fact that I am here and I had a season best is a win. It’s a win in so many ways, and I can’t even explain it.”
At 30, McLeod feels he has accomplished all he needs to in the sprint hurdles, having won the Olympic title in 2016 and the World Indoor and Outdoor titles in 2017. Looking ahead, he is seeking new challenges. “Maybe not hurdles, because to be honest, I fell out of love with hurdles because I’ve won everything in hurdles at a young age, and it was very hard to find motivation for hurdles," McLeod explained. "Especially knowing that I have the talent for other events, and I really wanted to explore that over my career. I want to give myself a chance to do that. This was to give my shot again for the hurdles, but I think moving forward, I think I am going to step down to something that my heart wants, which is to sprint.”
McLeod boasts a personal best of 9.99 seconds in the 100m, making him the first man in history to run under 10 seconds in the 100m and under 13 seconds in the sprint hurdles. “You’ve seen the indoors and the progression that I’ve had over the years, so it’s there. I have always known that, but I’ve never gotten the opportunity and the chance to really explore that, and I really want that for myself.”
McLeod’s journey over the past few years has taken him to Italy, where he has found a renewed sense of purpose and joy under the guidance of Coach Marco Airale, who also trains fellow Jamaican Britany Anderson and British sprinter Daryll Neita. “I found a new life. I wanted to give myself a bright new start, and I knew I wanted to be around familiar faces and people that I really adore, and that would make it easier. I took the risk, and I took the blind faith, and I fell in love with the place. I found friends there, I found a community, I found family, and I am enjoying it thoroughly,” McLeod shared.
As McLeod contemplates his next steps, his focus is on pursuing what his heart desires, aiming to make his mark in the 100m sprint while cherishing the new life he has found in Italy.
Rhonda Whyte, a former Jamaican champion in the 400m hurdles also chalked up a victory as she continued to prepare for the Jamaican championships next month.
The 27-year-old McLeod, the defending Olympic champion, gave an early glimpse of what can be expected this season when he raced to victory in 13.11, the second-fastest time in the world this year. Only Grant Holloway, who dethroned the Jamaican at the 2019 Doha World Championships, has run faster this season.
The American ran a world-leading 13.07 in Gainesville, Florida on April 17.
The victory represents a welcome return to form for the Jamaican, who has struggled over the past few years during which he changed coaches twice. Now under the guidance of coach Rana Rieder at the Tumbleweed Track Club in Jacksonville, Florida, he seems to have rediscovered the form that led him to the Olympic title at Rio 2016 and the World title in London in 2017.
“Ran 13.11s today for a season opener! Fastest opener in over 4 years and first 110 race in almost 2 years!” he declared proudly on his Facebook page afterwards. That’s patience, hard work, faith, resilience, commitment, staying true to you, blocking out the noise and trust!”
The former Razorback defeated a quality field of athletes including former USA champion Devon Allen, who ran 13.26 while finishing second. The talented and dangerous Daniel Roberts finished third, stopping the clock at 13.30.
Also in the race was world-record holder Aries Merritt, who is making a comeback after a serious illness. He was sixth in 13.90.
Britany Anderson, the 2018 World U20 silver medalist ran a fast 12.69 to win the 100m hurdles. The time would have been a personal best had the trailing wind not been just above the allowable limit, registering at 2.1m/s.
Second place went to Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, who clocked 12.74.
Tia Jones, who edged Anderson at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, was third in 12.95, just ahead of Pedrya Seymour of the Bahamas who finished fourth in 12.96.
Former Jamaica national champion, Rhonda Whyte, won the 400m hurdles in 55.11 in an all-Caribbean 1-2-3. Whyte’s compatriot, Leah Nugent finished in second place in 56.12 while Sparkle McKnight from Trinidad and Tobago finished third in 56.54.
McLeod easily won the race ahead of Americans Nicholas Anderson (13.52) and Zaza Wellington (13.69).
Andre Ewers, who represented Jamaica in the 200m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, won the Men’s 100m in 10.30 ahead of Spencer Schmidt (10.33) and Damarcus Simpson (10.36).
Trinidad’s Asa Guevara narrowly missed out on a win in the 200m running 20.70 to finish behind Great Britain's 400m specialist Matthew Hudson-Smith (20.68). Jamaica’s Nathon Allen was third in 20.88.
Lloydrecia Cameron threw 17.78m for second place in the Women’s Shot Put behind Oklahoma’s Payden Montana (17.88m). Miami’s Hannah Hall was third with (17.01m).
With the World Championships and Commonwealth Games on the schedule as major games this year, the Jamaicans are expected to see quite a bit of each other over the coming months.
McLeod, unfortunately, did not get the opportunity to defend his title as he missed out on making the Jamaica squad after failing to qualify from the country’s national trials and will no doubt have his eyes set on redemption later this year.
For his part, Parchment has in the meantime established himself as the country’s top performer at the event and will be looking to keep the wins coming in.
“So far I am feeling good, I think I am in good form,” Parchment told members of the media on Thursday.
“I still have a lot of work to do but I am looking forward to executing a really good race [in Birmingham] and hoping to get a really lovely time on this beautiful track.”
The race will also feature former world indoor champion Andrew Pozzi of Great Britain.”
Parchment finished ahead of countryman and 2016 Olympic champion Omar McLeod who ran a season’s best 13.17 for second, while Spain’s Asier Martinez was third in 13.22.
Reigning Olympic bronze medallist in the Women’s 100m Shericka Jackson narrowly finished second in the Women’s blue-ribband event, running 11.12 to finish behind British 2019 200m World champion Dina Asher-Smith (11.11). Asher-Smith’s countrywoman Daryll Neita was third in 11.14.
Olympic 800m finalist Natoya Goule was third in the Women’s 800m in 2:00.13 behind Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain (1:58.63) and Renelle Lamote of France (1:59.53).
McLeod made the announcement himself on Instagram on Friday, saying: “happy to be part of the #foreverfaster family.”
McLeod burst onto the scene in 2015, lowering his personal best of 13.44 to 12.97, setting the national record for the first time and becoming the national champion.
A year later, McLeod was winning the World Indoor title, running the 60-metre hurdles in 7.41 seconds.
He would finish sixth at the World Championships. In another year, McLeod would make history for Jamaica, running 13.05 seconds to claim Olympic gold. He would add a World Championship gold to his Olympic title the following year, but was unable to defend that title in 2019 after clipping a hurdle.
The 25-year-old Williams, a former high school standout star at Jamaican high school Edwin Allen, is considered by many as one of a new generation of talented athletes expected to continue the country’s success.
Williams was part of Jamaica’s silver medal-winning team in the 4x100m relays at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and claimed bronze, in the same event, at the London World Championships a year later. The sprinter, who holds personal best times of 10.96 in the 100m and 23.48 over the 200m, was a double silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in 2018.
The sprinter will join the likes of compatriots Omar McLeod, the 110m Olympic champion and World Youth Champion Christopher Taylor. Williams is the second top-ranked athlete to leave the MVP Track Club this season with hurdler Megan Tapper having left at the start.
For McLeod, the journey to Berlin marks a return to competition after facing setbacks in recent years. The 2016 Olympic champion has struggled with poor form, leading to his failure to qualify for the Jamaican team in both the Tokyo Olympics and the World Athletics Championships in 2022. However, reports from his training camp in Italy hinted at a remarkable turnaround, with McLeod displaying renewed focus and determination to regain his winning form on the track.
Eager for redemption, McLeod is approaching the ISTAF Indoor Meeting as a pivotal moment in his career as the 2017 World 110m hurdles world champion aims to showcase the fruits of his hard work and dedication in front of the global athletics community.
On the other hand, Anderson's story adds another layer of inspiration to the event.
The silver medalist from the 2022 World Championships in Oregon had faced a significant hurdle in the form of a knee injury that required surgery in early 2023. This setback forced her to miss the entire season.
The ISTAF Indoor Meeting in Berlin is now the stage for Anderson's much-anticipated return from surgery.
The meet otherwise boasts stellar lineup, featuring world record holder Grant Holloway, European indoor champion Samuele Ceccarelli from Italy, Zaynab Dosso, the third fastest 60m sprinter globally, and British European Champion Daryll Neita.
Among the local contenders were the fastest sprinters of the German Leichtathletik-Verbands (DLV), including Alexandra Burghardt, Rebekka Haase (both in the 60m), and Franziska Schuster (60m hurdles). The anticipation built as the world prepared to witness the thrilling competitions unfold on the renowned blue track in Berlin, with McLeod and Anderson's comebacks adding an extra layer of excitement to an already star-studded event.
McLeod is far and away one of the best athletes in the world at the event and would be a solid contender to reclaim his title. The fact of the matter, however, is that he came last at the trials and that's just the way it is.
The last time we found ourselves in a similar situation was in 2008 when John Public wanted to replace a certain Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce with Veronica Campbell-Brown, because of the latter’s proven ability to win medals. How did that turn out?
In case you have forgotten let me remind you, Fraser-Pryce has gone on to win 9 World Champions and two Olympic gold medals. Who knows what would have happened, had she been replaced. It’s always difficult when a champion or favourite crashes out, but fair is fair.
In any case, even though Grant Holloway is the clear favourite, he narrowly missed out on breaking the world record recently, I believe Ronald Levy, Damion Thomas, and Hansle Parchment are definite medal contenders for Tokyo. With an event like the men’s 110m hurdles you just never know.
McLeod, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, won the 100m in a brisk 10.32 in a race that also included Britain’s Adam Gemili. Obviously elated over his victory, the 2017 world champion, declared on Instagram, “A win today in the 100m was all I had on my birthday wish list.
“10.32 in an ankle freezing 15-degree weather is a solid opener. Beyond excited for what is to come this season.”
Meanwhile, Anderson, in only her second hurdles race back from injury and knee surgery that saw her miss the entire 2023 season, clocked 13.34 into a 1.4 m/s headwind in a dominant victory in which she widened her lead at each hurdle.
As the meeting concluded on Thursday, things are looking up for the Jamaican sprint hurdlers looking to reclaim their places among Jamaica's elite as the Olympics approach this summer.
