2019 World Championship long jump gold medallist Tajay Gayle has left the MVP track and field club.

No reason has been given as to why the 2019 RJRGleaner National Sportsman of the year left the club based at the University of Technology in Kingston.

However, the 28-year-old national record holder looks set to start working with St. Elizabeth-based jumps coach Kerry-Lee Ricketts, husband of Shanieka Ricketts.

Ricketts has guided the career of his wife to silver medals at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships as well as silver at this summer's Paris Olympics.

Gayle struggled with knee injuries in the 2021 and 2022 seasons before returning to take bronze at last year’s World Championships in Budapest behind teammate Wayne Pinnock and Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglu.

In a tradition spanning nine years, the MVP Track & Field Club is once again making a significant impact on Jamaica's budding athletic talents through its Island-wide Grassroots Athletics Training Camps. The club has extended invitations to secondary schools across the nation, urging them to nominate student-athletes aged 12 to 18 for participation in one of the three Advanced Level Training Camps. These camps are set to take place in each of Jamaica's counties throughout the month of November.

MVP President, Bruce James, expressed his delight at the overwhelming response, saying, "Over 100 schools, from all 14 Parishes in Jamaica have been invited, and we have almost exceeded the targeted number of participants."

Head Coach of the MVP Track & Field Club, Paul Francis, emphasized the importance of sharing their knowledge and training methods following their exceptional results in Budapest at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He recalled, "A highlight in Budapest was when a participant in our 2016 MVP Grassroots Training Camps won Gold in the 400m. This athlete is Antonio Watson."

The journey of nurturing young talent begins with the Cornwall Advanced Level Training Camp, scheduled for Saturday, November 11th at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St. James. The Middlesex Advanced Level Training Camp will follow on Saturday, November 18th, to be hosted at the GC Foster College in St. Catherine. The third and final Advanced Level Training Camp, dedicated to Surrey, will be conducted within the National Stadium, Kingston, on Saturday, November 25th, 2023.

These training camps will be supervised by a team of distinguished Jamaican coaches, led by MVP Head Coach Paul Francis, all of whom boast extensive international experience. The young athletes, numbering over 120 per training camp, will be guided through six track and field disciplines, including Hurdling, Sprinting, Throwing, Jumping, Distance Running, and Relays. It's worth noting that MVP Track & Field Club athletes frequently make appearances at these camps to interact with the aspiring young talents.

The training experience is further enriched as PUMA, one of the world's largest sports apparel companies, provides the athletes with top-quality gear. WATA and Powerade ensure that the young athletes remain well-hydrated, while NCB and the NCB Foundation offer financial literacy solutions. Best Dressed Chicken lends support for the nutritional needs of the student athletes, and the Sports Development Foundation continues its dedication to high-quality development programs throughout Jamaica. Digicel serves as the telecommunications partner for these camps.

The all-day training camps commence at 8:30 am and are strictly by invitation only, emphasizing the importance of fostering the future stars of Jamaican athletics.

Jamaica long jumper Tajay Gayle has admitted that he is excited to be adding the 100m sprint to his repertoire when the next track and field season gets underway.

Earlier this month, Stephen Francis the coach of Jamaica-based track club MVP, where Gayle plies his trade, had revealed that the athlete was set to add the 100m sprints to his list of disciplines for the 2021-2022 season.

Gayle, the 2019 Long Jump World champion, had shown plenty of promise last season after clocking a reasonably quick 10.18 over the distance.  The athlete has spent a good portion of the offseason recovering from a knee injury, which negatively impacted his performance at the Olympics.  It might be twice the work but Gayle admits that it is with a sense of excitement that he views the new season than apprehension.

“I wouldn’t say challenging, I would say exciting.  All the fun the fear, the anxiety, and all the pressure that comes with it (100m), that’s what keeps me going,”

“The fact that I can lose or might lose, you just can’t be sure.

The final of the World Championship in the 100, the sky’s the limit, why not, why would I say I can’t.  I wouldn’t say a challenge, it’s just an exciting year for me next year, once I get the knee up to speed.”

The fastest woman alive, Elaine Thompson-Herah, has now confirmed her departure from MVP and has revealed that she is yet to assemble her team for the 2021/2022 track season that includes the World Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon next summer.