Jaydon Hibbert eyes sprinting
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Triple jump world leader Jaydon Hibbert thinks he could add the sprints to his repertoire in the next two to three years, or as soon as he stops growing.
Hibbert, whose 17.87m is the longest in the triple jump in the world so far this year, like most Jamaican high school athletes, started as a sprinter but soon gave up when he discovered his triple jump talent.
“Well, I did sprinting before I started to triple jump two and half years ago, but I don’t think it was working like how the triple jump works, so I guess I’ll stay here,” he said, while speaking to members of the media at an event in Budapest on Thursday.
Still, the 18-year-old added that he has been doing well in the sprints during training.
“I’ve been doing very well with the sprint drills and with the sprinting work that I’ve been doing, so my coach is kinda banking on probably in the next few years, I start sprinting again. But for now, we are going to finish growing so we can get into all the good stuff.”
Hibbert, who won four major titles in his first year at the University of Arkansas, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indoor and outdoor titles as well as the South-Eastern Conference double, also set the world Under 20 indoors and outdoors world records in the process.
His personal best in the 100m is listed as 11.20 seconds set in June 2022, while he has a wind-aided 10.92 seconds, also set in June 2022.