Tajay Gayle stole the show at the Nike Seniors Linkup athletics meet when he won the men’s long jump with an impressive 8.30m (0.5) inside National Stadium on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Gayle soared past his previous best of 8.24m attained at the 2018 NACAC Championship in Canada and now has the second-best jump in the world. Luvo Manyounga of South Africa is the world leader with 8.35m.

Gayle, who was fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, won ahead of Shawn-D Thompson with 8.17m (2.1 mps), with Archibald Emanuel of the UWI third with 8.13m. The Jamaican record is 8.62m, held by James Beckford since 1997.

Meanwhile, 2014 Commonwealth Games champion O’Dayne Richards of MVP won the men’s shot put with a throw of 20.28m ahead of Cobe Graham of Calabar High with 16.05m. Christopher Brown (unattached) was third with 15.95 with Under-20 World champion Kai Chang (unattached) fifth with 14.53m.

Richards, who won bronze at the 2015 Beijing World Championships, achieved his winning mark with his first attempt which is the 36th best throw in the world this year. However, Richards is currently ranked 18th, with his season’s best of 20.82m, accomplished on March 16, 2019. The world leader is Ryan Crouser of the US with 22.74m, established on April 20.

Chad Wright won the men’s discus with 60.05m which puts him 50th in the world. Glenford Watson was second with 57.10m, with Basil Bingham third with 54.61m. Kai Chang was fourth with 53.57m.

Sprintec’s Rasheed Dwyer won the men’s 200m in 20.77 (-1.0 mps), with his teammate Brendon Rodney second in 20.97. In fact, it was a clean sweep by Sprintec as Chadic Hind was third in 21.28.

Jonelle Smith of MVP International won the women’s 100m in 11.45 (-2.0 mps) — ahead of the Sprintec quartet of Natasha Morrison (11.53), Gayon Evans (11.55), Sherone Simpson (11.62) and Shashalee Forbes (11.63).

Former St Jago star Kimone Shaw of G C Foster College was eighth-fastest in 11.85.

Dwyer completed the sprint double, winning the 100m in 10.40 (-2.9 mps). Nigel Ellis of MVP was second overall in 10.44 (-1.1) ahead of his teammate Delano Williams in 10.52 (-1.4).

MVP’s Megan Simmonds-Tapper won the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.26 (-2.6), while Ronald Levy took the men’s 110 hurdles in 13.72 (-1.1).

Sprintec’s Demish Gaye won the men’s 400m in 45.41 ahead of MVP’s Rusheen McDonald with 45.50. Stephenie-Ann McPherson of MVP captured the women’s 400m in 51.94, but only after the fast-starting Shericka Jackson shut it down at the top of the straight when leading easily after 300m in what could be instruction from her coach. Jackson jogged home in 54.11 in ninth place. Shainn Salmon of G C Foster was second in 52.37. Jauavney James of Elite Performance won the men’s 800m in 1:48.83, with Daniel Glave of G C Foster second in 1:50.24.

— Howard Walker