Travis Geopfert, the men’s jumps coach at the University of Arkansas, has credited the intense competition at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships for helping to prepare Jamaican athletes to be able to rise to the occasion at any level of athletics competition.

Geopfert, who coaches World Championships finalist Wayne Pinnock as well as the newly crowned NCAA Division 1 indoors men’s triple and long jump champions, freshman Jaydon Hibbert and senior Carey McLeod, to the title, says ‘Champs, which is held over five days and will run between March 28-April 2 this year, is the crucible where they have honed their crafts.”

Hibbert took just one jump to win the triple jump at the championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last weekend, setting a new World Under-20 and Jamaican national record 17.54m, while Carey, an Olympian in 2021, won the long jump by a centimetre on his sixth and final effort, equalling the Jamaican record of 8.40m held by James Beckford.

Geopfert was speaking to members of the Jamaican media on Tuesday in a specially arranged Zoom conference call to interview a number of Jamaican athletes at the University of Arkansas, including Hibbert, Carey, Ackera Nugent, and Joanna Reid.

There were two other Jamaican individual winners. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lamara Distin of Texas A&M retained her high jump title while Romaine Beckford of the University of South Florida won the men’s high jump.

The Jamaicans, Geopfert, said: “These young athletes from Jamaica have performed on a big stage before they have gotten here, and when you can endure the rigours and the pressures of Champs and come out and be successful down there, it sets the stage for the NCAAs, the World Championships, the World Under-20s, the Olympic Games, you name it.”

While giving credit to the Kingston College jumps coach Jeremy Delliser who would have coached all three jumpers while they were in high school, Geopfert said, “These young people are extremely prepared and I think it’s a huge compliment to the culture that’s been established and set, you know, for the last 120 years or whatever it is and Jamaica and that meet and I’ve been fortunate to, to attend it a few times. It’s just incredible.”

Geopfert added: “Those two jumpers you had and the manner in which they won, Hibbert with the one jump in and Carey with the final-round jump to win it by a centimetre, just so extremely proud of those two guys and also a Wayne Pinnock you know. It’s just a testimony to the work that they put in and perseverance, you know. It’s always not a smooth ride, you know, and things happen and different timing and in different ways but those guys always stayed the course and focused on the process and execute extremely well. You know, obviously, you know, carry on, on, on the last jump.”

Pinnock led the competition at one stage but finished fourth with a personal best 8.33m.