PHILADELPHIA, United States — After winning the gold medal in the boys’ long jump competition at the Penn Relays, Balvin Israel of Jamaica College (JC) is aiming to represent Jamaica at the World Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, scheduled for August.

The 18-year-old Israel, competing at the Penn Relays for the first time, soared to 7.24m to secure victory comfortably ahead of Kingston College’s Nathan Wade (7.09m) and Antoine McNair of Calvert College (7.08m).

Despite battling a series of injuries this season, Israel expressed satisfaction with his performance at the event. He said his primary goal is to achieve the qualifying mark of 7.57m for the Under-20 Championships.

“For me, the next step is trying to get closer to that World Junior standard but I was hoping for better weather conditions today [on Friday]. Unfortunately, they weren’t favourable so I will just have to work on it in my next competition,” he said.

“The qualifying distance for the world junior is 7.57 metres and, honestly, I aim to surpass that mark. I came close to it last season but this year I haven’t been as near so I’ll need to adjust some things and, hopefully, I’ll achieve the mark,” Israel added.

The soft-spoken athlete, coached by Neil Harrison at JC, holds a personal best of 7.40m in the long jump, which he achieved earlier this season. He expressed his joy at winning the gold medal in his first-ever international competition.

“This being my first time here, I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like. It turned out to be quite cold, which affected my performance, but I’m grateful to God for the victory,” Israel said. “The competition was strong with athletes from Jamaica, which pushed me. Competing against such [high-]calibre athletes was a valuable experience,” he added.

Israel emphasised the hard work he put into preparing for the event and how this victory serves as a significant motivation for him, moving forward. “This win boosts my confidence significantly because it’s my first international outing. The journey here required immense effort, and despite facing setbacks like hamstring injuries, I persevered,” he noted. “I have been through a lot in the past few years, with several hamstring injuries which almost sidelined me for the entire season this year,” Israel pointed out.