Triple Jump

Ricketts produced an excellent series with distances of 14.69m, 14.79m and 14.69m in the first, second and fourth rounds before going out to 15.00m in her fifth-round effort. The 2019 World Championship silver medallist then produced a personal best 15.03m in the sixth and final round.

Rojas had fouls in her first two attempts before going out to 14.53m in her third round. After another foul in the fourth round, the superstar produced a world leading and meet record 15.35m in the fifth to secure victory.

Jamaica’s Kimberly Williams produced her best series of the season in third. Her best distance of 14.61m was her best jump since 2021. Her full series was as follows: 14.37m, 14.50m, 14.61m, 14.31m, 14.56m and 14.45m.

Ricketts, who got silver four years ago, won with a Commonwealth Games record 14.94m which she did in the first round.

Dominica’s Thea Lafond made it a Caribbean 1-2 by taking the silver with 14.39m ahead of England’s Naomi Metzger (14.37m).

Elaine Thompson-Herah will get an opportunity to win her second gold medal after advancing to the final of the Women’s 200m.

The double Olympic champion, who ran 10.95 to win the 100m on Wednesday, cruised to 22.63 to win semi-final three and advance to Saturday’s final.

Her Jamaican teammate Natalliah Whyte will also be in the final after running 23.09 to finish second in semi-final one.

On the Men’s side, Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards will get an opportunity to defend his title from 2018 after running 20.40 to win semi-final three and advance.

In the 400m, Barbadian World Championships bronze medallist Sada Williams will be in the final after running 51.59 to win semi-final two. Jamaica’s Junelle Bromfield also advanced from that race as a fastest loser courtesy of a 52.18 effort to finish fourth.

Jonathan Jones ran 45.82 to win semi-final two and advance on the Men's side. Joining him in the final will be Jamaica's Anthony Cox who ran 45.98 for third in semi-final one and nathon Allen who was second in semi-final three with 45.99. 

Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk produced a lifetime best of 14.74m to bump Jamaica’s Kimberly Williams, who jumped a season-best 14.62, down to third.

Williams medal means Jamaica now has two medals from the championships following Stephenie-Ann McPherson’s bronze medal in the 400m on Saturday.

However, it was Rojas, who stole the spotlight when on her final jump, she flew beyond her own world record of 15.43m, to establish a new mark and become the first woman to win three world indoor titles.

She also shattered the previous championship record of 15.36 set by Tatyana Lebedeva in 2004. She has equalled that mark on her penultimate jump of the competition.

Rojas already owned the world-leading mark indoors with 15.41m she set in Spain on March 2.

Meanwhile, Dominica’s Thea LaFond also advanced with a record-setting performance as well as three-time world champion Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela.

Ricketts, the two-time World Championships silver medalist produced a season’s best effort of 14.67m, which is the best mark heading into the finals. LaFond was not far behind with her mark of 14.62, a new national record. Williams, who has been struggling for form this season, also produced a season’s best 14.30m to make it into the finals.

Rojas, who is going for her fourth title, just did enough to qualify. The world record holder bounded to a mark of 14.59m with medal contender Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk also through with her qualifying effort of 14.55m.

The in-form Leyanis Perez Fernandez of Cuba, whose mark of 14.98m is the second best in the world this year, soared out to 14.50m to book her spot. Jasmine Moore (14.13m) and Tori Franklin (14.13m) are also through.

Ackelia Smith’s best jump of 13.95m was 17^th best overall and so she misses out on the finals set for Friday.

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.”

The two-time World Championship silver medalist produced a lifetime best of 15.01m in Brussels but needed only 14.53m for victory in Croatia.

Ricketts was almost a half-metre better than Italy’s Dariya Derkach, whose best jump of 14.07m earned her second place. Ricketts’ Jamaican compatriot Kimberly Williams, who has struggled to jump 14m for most of the season, could only manage a 13.70m effort which was good enough for her to finish third.

Ricketts, who has a season’s best of 14.43m, finished ahead of Slovenia’s Neja Filipic (14.26m) and the USA’s Tori Franklin (14.05m) at the meet, which is a part of the World Athletics Continental Tour-Gold.

Also in action was 2019 World Champion and current world leader in the Men’s javelin, Anderson Peters of Grenada. He produced a distance of 86.60m for third in the event behind Indian Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra who, in his first competition of the season, threw a personal best and national record 89.30 to finish second. Finland’s Oliver Helander threw a personal best 89.83m for the win.

Jamaican Olympic finalist Britany Anderson had to settle for second in the 100m hurdles in 12.59 after being narrowly out-dipped at the finish line by Nigeria’s reigning Commonwealth Games Champion Tobi Amusan (12.57). Nadine Visser of the Netherlands was third in 12.72.

Ricketts, the only Jamaican winner at the meet where Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Tajay Gayle and Natoya Goule also competed, jumped 14.29m in her ‘final-three' attempt to defeat Yulimar Rojas and Patricia Mamona, who jumped 15.12m and 14.66m, respectively to qualify for the jump-off but fouled their final jumps.

Ricketts qualified with her opening-round jump of 14.75m.

“I am very pleased I was able to get a good series out tonight and that shows us where we are with our preparation so I am looking to build upon what we did tonight ahead of Tokyo in a few weeks,” said Ricketts who also jumped 14.65m during the preliminary round.

“The girls are doing extremely well in the triple jump and they keep the level high up. I am doing well in the competition and in training so it is a huge motivation for me to do better each time. With the ‘final-three’ rule, I really have to dig deep because this is the jump that matters, so this is pushing me to stay on top of my game.”

She said as she continues her preparation for the Olympics, she is focused on making minor improvements that will ensure success.

“There are always things to improve on but we will be focusing on the last phase in order to see bigger jumps in Tokyo. I am not putting any pressure on myself but I would be disappointed if I was leaving without a medal,” she said.

Gayle, the 2019 long jump world champion, was on the wrong end of the ‘final-three’ rule in his competition. He went into the ‘final-three’ round with the best jump of 8.29, along with Miltiadis Tentoglou and Thobias Montler, who jumped a personal best 8.27m in the earlier rounds.

Tentoglou had the only legal jump in the final round with 8.24m while Gayle and Montler both fouled.

On the track, Fraser-Pryce ran 22.48 to finish third in the 200m that was won by Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who rebounded from her loss in Hungary on Tuesday to clock 22.23 getting by Marie Josee Ta Lou just before the finish line. Ta Lou ran a season-best 22.25 for second place.

Natoya Goule ran her second-fastest time this season, 1:57.35, but finished fourth in the 800m. The three women who beat her all ran personal best times.

Great Britain’s Laura Muir won the race in 1:56.73 ahead of compatriot Jemma Reekie, who ran 1:56.96.

The USA’s Grace Kate was third 1:57.20.

The Olympic silver medalist blazed to meet record 10.60 while just managing to hold off a fast-finishing Thompson-Herah, who ran 10.64. It was another 1-2-3 for Jamaica as Shericka Jackson finished third in 10.92. It was the third time this season that the trio swept all the medal places.

Naturally, Fraser-Pryce was pleased with her performance.

“I’m feeling good to equal my PB tonight, it was cold but I still came out here to do my job,” she said. “Believe it or not, I still have not run my best race. I know there is more to give because I still need to work further on perfecting my technique. There will be more from me this season, and certainly, my goal is to break into the 10.5 range. The crowd in Lausanne was amazing as usual.”

Meanwhile, Thompson-Herah admitted that after several high-level performances she is feeling a bit of fatigue.

“My body is feeling tired after a long season and especially after having done personal bests, four times in a month so that´s amazing for sure,” she said.

“I have no plans to break the world record and I never thought of getting so close. I´m simply going to continue working hard, finish this season strong and come back even stronger next season.”

Shanieka Ricketts finished second overall in the triple jump competition won by Olympic champion Yulimar Rojas to set a meet record of 15.52m. She also produced a wind-aided effort of 15.56m.

Ricketts, who had a wind-aided jump of 15.02 finished second while Hanna Minenko of Isreal was third with 14.47m.

The Jamaican said her performance was redemption after failing to win a medal in Tokyo during the summer.

“Today feels like redemption after the Olympics where I was a bit disappointed with my results,” she said.

“I’m grateful because I've been having a great season this year with lots of consistently big jumps. Today was not wind legal but it gives me the confidence to know that I’m back in good shape.

“Between myself and Kimberly Williams, I hope we are influencing another generation of triple jumpers back home because we have the talent to do well.”

Steven Gardiner ran 20.11 for third in the 200m that was won by Kenny Bednarek in 19.65 over Fred Kerley (19.77). The athletes were aided by a wind of 3.2m/s.

Jackson, who won silver in the 100m with a 10.73 personal best on Sunday, ran a spectacular championship record 21.45 for victory ahead of teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (21.81) and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (22.02). Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah finished seventh in 22.39.

Jackson’s time also makes her the fastest woman alive over the distance and is a new national record.

In the men’s equivalent, the USA completed their second sprint sweep of the championships with Noah Lyles defending his title from Doha with a phenomenal world-leading and lifetime best of 19.31 to become the third fastest man in history over the distance.

Kenny Bednarek ran 19.77 for the silver medal while 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton took the bronze in 19.80. The Dominican Republic's Alexander Ogando and Trinidad & Tobago's Jereem Richards were fifth and sixth in 19.93 and 20.08, respectively.

In the Women’s 800m, Jamaica’s 1500m semi-finalist Adelle Tracey ran a personal best of 1:59.20 to finish third in heat one and advance to the semi-finals.

Joining Tracey in the semis will be her Jamaican teammate and 2019 World Championships finalist Natoya Goule, who won the sixth and final heat in 2:00.06.

In the field, the world leader and defending world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada needed only one throw to advance to the final of the men’s javelin, registering a mark of 89.91m. Trinidadian 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott failed to advance, finishing 16^th overall in qualifying with a throw of 78.87m.

Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez jumped 17.06m to advance to the final of the men’s triple jump.

Jamaica’s Tapper qualified fastest with a 12.62 effort to win semi-final one while Charlton of the Bahamas finished second in the second semi-final in 12.76 to advance. Puerto Rico’s Paola Vazquez (13.34) and Cuba’s Acevedo Lopez (13.43) also advanced to the final.

Costa Rica’s Gerald Drummond (49.68), BVI’s Kyron McMaster (49.77), Jamaica’s Shawn Rowe (50.27), Cuba’s Lazaro Fernandez (50.37), The Bahamas’ Shakeem Smith (50.55) and Haiti’s Joshua Adhemar (52.21) all advanced to the final of the 400m hurdles.

In the 200m, Jamaica’s Natalliah Whyte (22.78) and Ashley Williams (23.67) both advanced to the Women’s final along with The Bahamas’ Tynia Gaither (22.82), Trinidad & Tobago’s Mauricia Prieto (23.48) and Reyare Thomas (24.00) and Grenada’s Amanda Crawford (24.32).

On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson was the fastest qualifier to the final with 20.25. He’ll be joined in the event by teammate Jazeel Murphy (20.80), Trinidad & Tobago’s Kyle Greaux (20.68), The Bahamas’ Ian Kerr (20.89), Antigua & Barbuda’s Darrion Skerritt (21.17) and Bermuda’s Suresh Black (21.42).

In the field, Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards threw 20.05m for bronze in the men’s shot put behind Americans Roger Steen (20.78m) and Adrian Piperi (20.76m).

The region also got silver and bronze in the men’s triple jump thanks to Bermuda’s Jah Nhai Perinchief (15.89m) and Antigua & Barbuda’s Taeco O’Garro (15.70m). Gold went to the USA’s Chris Bernard with 16.40m.

The 30-year-old produced a personal best and national record 15.02m in the second round to claim her country’s first ever Olympic medal.

She opened her competition with 14.32m in the first round before producing her gold medal-winning effort a few minutes later. From rounds three to five, the reigning World Indoor champion produced distances of 14.46m, 14.12m and 14.43m before passing on her final effort with gold already secured.

Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts secured silver, her country’s first ever Olympic medal in the event, with a best distance of 14.87m, her best jump of the season.

The 32-year-old had three legal jumps in her series, 14.61m in round one, 14.87m in round two and 14.73m in the final round.

American Jasmine Moore took bronze with a season’s best 14.67m.

 The women's triple jump event was a showcase of unparalleled athleticism and grit, with Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela securing her fourth world title with a leap of 15.08m on her final jump. The competition was defined by its intensity, with Rojas narrowly making the final round of jumps after initially being tied for eighth. Ukraine's Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk clinched the silver medal with a season's best of 15.00m, while Cuba's Leyanis Perez-Hernandez secured the bronze with a jump of 14.96m.

 Jamaica's Shanieka Ricketts, a two-time world championship silver medalist, claimed fourth place with a season's best of 14.93m, while Cuba's Liadagmis Povea's best effort of 14.87m placed her in sixth position in the closely contested contest.

 Reflecting on her remarkable journey, LaFond expressed the historic significance of the event.

 "So the competition was really, honestly like history making, to be honest. I mean, you're talking about probably the hardest women's triple term final in the history of the World Championships and it was it was a battle and I'm happy to be part of it and as happy as able to fight, but it was definitely a battle," she said.

 LaFond acknowledged the work she had put in to refine her technique leading up to the event.

 "Earlier this year we did talk about working on different parts of the phases and to the question of did it all come together at the right time, honestly, no. I mean that 1490 was not a perfect jump. It was far from it, which only tells me that there's more left in the tank and I'm excited to see what comes next," she told Sportsmax.TV.

 While her performance would have secured a medal in most years, LaFond faced the challenge of competing in a highly competitive field. "To be honest, 14.90m would have won a medal any year and it's like it's definitely frustrating, you know, but it is quite an honor to be competing in the sport at the height of the sport, truly. But yeah, it's a tough reality."

LaFond candidly expressed her feelings about the thrilling finale of the competition, where Rojas clinched victory with her final jump.

 "It was definitely, I don't even know if the word is deflating. It was just kind of annoying," she confessed. "She was definitely the most vulnerable she's ever looked in the competition, definitely in any major championships, but definitely not deflating. Annoying definitely, but there's nothing deflating over here."

 Amidst the intense competition and emotions, LaFond highlighted the remarkable progression of the sport.

 "Six women over 14.80m. That just means that our sport is getting insane and we're definitely pushing the limits to what people even thought the sport could be," she said.

"And to see so many women, so, so many minority women at that, I'm at the top of the sport. It's really a great feeling. And I really hope that you know, other, you know, little brown girls around the world are finding inspiration through what we do."

Thiam produced one of the standout moments of the European Indoor Championships on 3 March to win her third European indoor title, putting together her best ever indoor series.

She opened by equalling her 8.23 PB in the 60m hurdles and followed it with a 1.92m clearance in the high jump, after which she moved into the lead. An outright shot put PB of 15.54m gave her a comfortable margin at the top of the leaderboard and she followed that with a 6.59m leap in the long jump, putting her on course to break the world record.

Poland’s Adrianna Sulek had also been having the competition of her life and was close to world record pace too heading into the 800m. Sulek dominated that race, crossing the line in 2:07.17, but Thiam also ran well, clocking an indoor PB of 2:13.60 to give her an overall winning tally of 5055. Sulek finished second with 5014.

Thiam’s score added 42 points to the previous world record of 5013, set by Ukraine’s Nataliya Dobrynska on 9 March 2012 at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.

Sulek crossed the line before Thiam and so technically scored 5014 – higher than the pre-event world record – six seconds before Thiam finished the competition with 5055. But it is the position of World Athletics that only Thiam’s mark will be ratified.

Eight days after Thiam’s record-breaking feat, Jamaican triple jumper Jaydon Hibbert made history at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque on 11 March.

The world U20 champion bounded out to a winning leap of 17.54m in the first round of the men’s triple jump. Not only did he break the collegiate record that had stood since 1986, he also broke the world U20 indoor record of 17.20m – previously set by France’s Melvin Raffin in Belgrade on 3 March 2017 – and the outright world U20 record of 17.50m set by East Germany’s Volker Mai in Erfurt on 23 June 1985.

Two months after winning the NCAA indoor title, Hibbert sailed out to an outdoor PB of 17.87m at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge. The mark has been submitted for ratification; if approved, that will stand as the outdoor world U20 record, while his 17.54m leap will remain at the world U20 indoor record.

Hibbert pulled up limping during his run up and appeared to have suffered an injury after he was seen limping during his walk back. However, the World Under-20 record holder said the limping was due to cramping.

“It was a good competition and I’m really grateful. Anything could have happened. Could’ve gotten injured but I came out healthy,” Hibbert said on social media on Friday.

“Ready for the rest of the season but we have to rest first,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, Hibbert jumped 17.56m to secure the triple jump title at the championships, adding to his stellar season which also saw him take the SEC Indoor and Outdoor crowns as well as the NCAA Indoor title.

At those SEC Outdoors, Hibbert produced a World Under-20 record 17.87m, the furthest jump in the world this year.

In 2024, the world’s best athletes will once again take the stage in athletics’ premier one-day series, competing at 15 meetings across four different continents.

Athletes will compete for points in their chosen discipline at the 14 series meetings between April and September, with the most successful qualifying for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13th-14th.

The season begins in Xiamen on April 20th, with the men’s 100m, women’s 200m and a 100/110m hurdles double bill among the headline events. Each discipline will then be staged at least four and up to eight times on the Road to the Final, giving athletes from across the globe enough opportunities to earn points.

Two meetings will be held at a different location in 2024 due to stadium renovation works in their usual locations. The Meeting International Mohammed VI will move from Rabat to Marrakech, while the Wanda Diamond League Shanghai will take place in Suzhou.

The 14 series meetings will each take place in a two-hour TV world programme and will all stage at least 14 Diamond Disciplines. The Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels will be the only meeting to feature every single discipline, with all 32 Diamond League champions crowned over the course of two days.

The season calendar and the allocation of disciplines remain subject to change.

A list of disciplines for each meeting will also be available under the 'programme and results' page on each individual meeting website.

As well as the Diamond Disciplines, each meeting may also include additional disciplines in their programme, in which athletes will not earn points on the Road to the Final.

The disciplines are as follows: 100m (M,W), 200m (M,W), 400m (M,W), 800m (M,W), 1500m/Mile (M,W), 3000m/5000m (M,W), 3000m Steeplechase (M,W), 110m Hurdles (M), 100m Hurdles (W), 400m Hurdles (M,W), High Jump (M,W), Pole Vault (M,W), Long Jump (M,W), Triple Jump (M,W), Shot Put (M,W), Discus Throw (M,W), Javelin Throw (M,W).

Pinnock and McLeod, both former Kingston College standouts, now competing for the University of Tennessee, jumped 7.93m and 7.63m, respectively, to advance. They were also the top two finishers at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Alabama in March with Pinnock jumping 7.92m for victory against McLeod's 7.91m.

Former Jamaica College and current Purdue jumper Safin Wills produced 15.89m to advance in the Men’s triple jump.

On the track, Jamaica’s Yanique Dayle and Antigua and Barbuda’s Joella Lloyd will both compete in the sprint double at the NCAA Championships after securing their spots.

Dayle, formerly of Hydel High and now competing for Ohio State, ran times of 11.24 in the 100m and 22.64 in the 200m while Lloyd, competing for Tennessee, ran the same time in the 100m and 23.01 in the 200m.

The Women’s 400m also saw two Caribbean competitors advance from the East Region with Bahamian Kentucky standout Megan Moss (52.07) and Bermudan UMBC athlete Caitlyn Bobb (52.40).

Trinidadian Olympian and Kentucky senior Dwight St. Hillaire ran 45.63 to advance in the Men’s equivalent.

Clemson senior Lafranz Campbell of Jamaica and Cayman's North Carolina A&T senior Rasheem Brown both ran 13.63 to advance in the Men’s sprint hurdles while another Jamaican Clemson representative, Trishauna Hemmings, ran 13.13 to advance in the Women’s 100m hurdles.

Barbadian and Tennessee sophomore Rasheeme Griffith and Jamaica and Kentucky senior Kenroy Williams ran 50.91 and 50.96, respectively, to progress in the Men’s 400m hurdles.

Williams won the event in 6.59, a meet record, ahead of Grenadian 2021 World U-20 Championships 100m finalist and Ohio State Junior Nazzio John (6.68) and UTEP’s Xavier Butler (6.74).

Williams, who previously represented the University of Albany, was a silver medallist in the 100m at last year’s NACAC U-23 Championships in Costa Rica.

The men’s 60m open saw a Caribbean 1-2-3 through Barbados’ Mario Burke (6.56), BVI’s Rikkoi Brathwaite (6.67) and Jamaica’s Christopher Grant (6.74).

The open women’s 60m saw 2023 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion and World Championship finalist Ackera Nugent run 7.30 for second behind American Jada Baylark (7.22). Kristina Knott of the Philippines was third in 7.35.

Grenadian Arizona State Senior Gamali Felix ran a season’s best 45.90 to win the men’s 400m ahead of Arkansas’ Steven McElroy (46.09) and USC’s Johnnie Blockburger (46.20).

The women’s 200m saw Jamaican UTEP Sophomore Niesha Burgher run 23.09 for second behind USC’s Madison Whyte 23.01. Whyte’s USC teammate Jassani Carter was third in 23.19.

In the field, seven-time Jamaican national champion Kimberly Williams produced 13.83m to win the women's triple jump ahead of ULM's Eunice Ilunga Mbuyi (13.13m) and Oregon's Ryann Potter (12.84m).

The men's equivalent was won by Bermuda's Jah-Nhai Perinchief with 16.36m. Bahamian Kaiwan Culmer was second with 16.26m while Jamaican Arkansas Junior Apalos Edwards was third with 15.86m.

Bahamian Laquan Nairn jumped 7.64m for second in the men's long jump behind South Plains Freshman Andrew Stone (7.70m). Oklahoma Senior Anthony Riley was third with 7.57m.

“I was overjoyed when I realized that I won the silver medal. It felt like redemption from missing the podium in Tokyo by a mere three centimetres,” she recalled while speaking with Sportsmax.TV earlier this week.

“When I remember the journey to the podium, the days that we could not train when the distances were not forthcoming, and all the times when we wondered if we would be ready, it really felt like a dream come true, and it would not be possible without the help of God, my coach Kerrylee Ricketts and my agent Norman Peart.”

After winning silver in Doha in 2019 behind the virtually invincible Venezuelan, Yulimar Rojas, Ricketts, as she pointed out, was unable to replicate the performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where her best effort of 14.84m was only good enough for fourth.

Fast forward to 2022 when armed with the lessons learnt from Tokyo, Ricketts encountered an unexpected new challenge early in the season.

“I started experiencing some tension in my knee in January. We had to take a break from doing technical sessions and it also restricted me from doing explosive lifts and sprints for some time,” she recounted.

Those early struggles manifested in the form of a few relatively off-colour performances -13.94m at the John Wolmer Speed Fest at the National Stadium in Kingston in March; 14.27m at the Velocity Fest 10 also in Kingston on April 2 and 14.15m seven days later at the USATF Bermuda Games.

She capped off the string of underwhelming performances with a 13.95m performance at Velocity Fest 11 at the National Stadium on April 23.

Notwithstanding, the underwhelming outings, Ricketts ended up a winner in each competition but she knew she had to be much better if she was to contend for a medal in Oregon.

In fact, she admits that her confidence began to wane as the marks were nowhere close to what she needed to be able to take on the world’s best come July.

“It did to some extent, especially when things were not going as planned,” she conceded, “but, I know that every season is different and sometimes challenges occur that you have to overcome in order to reach the goals that you have. So I did my best to focus on the things that I could control, trust my coach, trust the program and trust the process and hoped for the best.”

Sure enough, things began to change.

“Things began to improve in May and there were times when I wondered if I would be able to perform at my best at the world championships because I knew that in order to be on the podium I have to jump at least 14.70 and I have not seen that result all year,” she explained.

On May 13, she produced a season-best 14.82 for yet another victory in Doha and then reeled off marks of 14.35 and 14.52 before winning at Jamaica’s National Championships with a less than stellar 14.27m.

She isn’t clear on when things finally came together but what is certain is that they did and at just the right time.

“I know that a lot of persons were ahead of me on the performance list for this season, so I had to bring my ‘A’ game in order to medal,” said Ricketts who qualified for the finals in Oregon with 14.45m but with the intention of jumping much farther once the final began on Monday night.

“The goal for the final was to produce a big jump in the first round to take the pressure off me and put the pressure on the field. Then do my best to keep improving as the rounds progressed.”

She did exactly that. 14.89m on her first jump, a mark only surpassed by Rojas, who would subsequently win her third world title in as many championships.

For Ricketts, it all came down to what happened in Tokyo last year. That was where the rebound started and ended nicely for the four-time national champion.

“Not winning a medal in Tokyo really motivated me to work harder, and to never underestimate any of my opponents.  The experience also helped me become fearless because I know how to navigate both winning and losing,” she said.

“Winning feels much better and yields the best outcomes so I always strive to win but I am not afraid to lose.”

At the conclusion of the world championships, Ricketts returns home for a few days before flying off to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England where she hopes of a golden conclusion to a season that did not begin with much promise.

Williams first won the second heat of the preliminaries in 7.37 before crossing the line in 7.25 in the final, narrowly behind Georgia sophomore Kaila Jackson who won in 7.19. Another Georgia sophomore, Autumn Wilson, ran 7.28 in third.

The men’s event was won by Jamaican Georgia freshman Jehlani Gordon. The former Wolmer’s Boys sprinter won the second preliminary heat in 6.74, the fourth fastest time in the prelims, before returning to win the final in a personal best 6.60, the third fastest time ever by Georgia athlete. Campbell senior Jamal Miller and Clemson senior Cameron Rose ran 6.64 and 6.65, respectively, in second and third.

A pair of Jamaicans, Lafranz Campbell and Gianno Roberts, finished first and second in the men’s 60m hurdles with times of 7.74 and 7.76, respectively. North Colorado junior Jerome Campbell ran 7.78 for third.

Clemson sophomore Oneka Wilson ran 8.31 for third in the women’s equivalent behind Amber Hughes (8.19) and Cortney Jones (8.21).

Charokee Young ran 1:29.45 for second in the women’s 600m behind Clemson freshman Gladys Chepngetich (1:28.22). Quanera Hayes ran 1:29.49 in third.

Clemson senior Tarees Rhoden was second in the men’s equivalent in a personal best 1:16.10. Garden State Track Club’s Jake Ulrich took the win in 1:15.94 while Georgia Tech senior Jameson Miller ran a personal best 1:18.83 in third.

In the field, Jamaican Clemson senior Marie Forbes dominated the field to win the women’s weight with a best throw of 22.20m, a season best. Kennesaw State junior Kali Tezra threw 19.32m for second while Georgia junior Kelsie Murrell-Ross threw 18.63m for third.

Forbes’ schoolmate and countrywoman, Shantae Foreman, produced a personal best 13.39m to win the women’s triple jump ahead of the Kennesaw State pair of senior Alana Mack (12.20m) and sophomore Victoria Joyce (12.05m).