Shawn-D Thompson returned from injury with a moral-boosting win in his first taste of competitive action for 2021, when he won the men’s long jump at the Velocity Fest 9 track meet at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica recently.

One of the most consistent long jumpers in the country over the last few seasons, Thompson upstaged World Champion Tajay Gayle to come away with the win, with a best of 7.81m (+0.1m/s), even as Gayle struggled for rhythm on the day and managed a best of 7.76m (+0.6m/s).

After almost three months on the sidelines with a deep tissue injury to the hamstring, the G C Foster College student was happy to be back competing again.

“First and foremost, I just want to give thanks because I am just recovering from injury for the past two and a half months, so I am really grateful to be where I’m at right now despite the fact that I have just started speed work this week.”

Strong winds made is particularly difficult for the jumpers at the stadium, so the 24-year-old was happy to get a few legal marks on the day.

“It wasn’t perfect but I really give thanks that I got a legal wind because if you don’t get a legal wind, you don’t have a real mark, so I give thanks for whatever I get.”

With one event now under his belt, the former St Jago High Manning Cup player is looking forward to whatever else comes over the next few weeks.

“This is a season opener, so the rest of the season will speak for itself,” said the versatile athlete.

But even as he gets back into the rigours of competing once more, Thompson is still working on getting his body back to peak fitness.

“Flexibility has been my main challenge and I am improving on it, so I will just keep doing what’s best to move forward.”

There is just about two months to go before the National Championships in June and Thompson is trusting his Coach Marlon Gayle to get him to peak at the right time.

“The coach has all that in the plan, so I have to trust in the coach process to move forward and accomplish whatever needs to be done, to improve in every area.”

The Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, which begins in late July is the main focus for Thompson and he is putting all his faith in his Coach Gayle to get him there.

“It’s the coach’s work, so the work will speak for itself. I trust the coach and his process so everything will work out how it should.”

Gayle was pleased with both the performance of his athlete and the fact that he competed without any adverse reactions.

“After starting speed work about two weeks to the competition [his performance] was satisfactory and that he competed pain free and continues post-competition with no issues is definitely a good sign. So, with all data gathered from the meet, I am very confident that we will make the timely transition,” said Gayle.

Thompson has a personal best of 8.13m, but missed the World Championships in 2019 even after jumping 8.17m, due to a wind reading of (+2.1m/s).