PARIS, France — Despite a brave attempt by Jaydon Hibbert to secure a medal for Jamaica in the men’s triple jump final, it was not to be as he finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Paris on Friday.

Hibbert, who has been battling injuries over the past two months, managed a jump of 17.61m in front of a sold-out crowd at the Stade de France.

The 19-year-old, competing with a heavily strapped left knee, was forced to withdraw from the competition after deciding to skip his sixth and final attempt due to injury. He fouled on his fourth and fifth tries.

The gold medal was won by Spain’s Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun with a leap of 17.86m, followed by Tokyo Olympic Games champion Pedro Pichardo of Portugal at 17.84m, and Andy Diaz Hernandez of Italy at 17.64m.

Hibbert explained that the injury is not serious and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games.

“In the fourth jump, I kind of stumbled and didn’t complete it, and it kind of triggered my glutes and then, on the fifth jump, it triggered my hamstring,” Hibbert said.

“I anticipated that something might happen, but I went out and gave it my all, but it’s nothing serious. First, I want to thank God for this moment because I did my best. I gave it all I had, and what happens out there stays out there. I am not carrying this with me into next season, as next season is a new season,” he said.

Hibbert missed out on a chance to win his first senior medal at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023 when he was injured in the final of that event.

He pointed out that the Paris Games was his last competition of the season, and he will now focus on recuperating ahead of the next season.

“Overall, this is my last meet of the year, and I am just truly grateful for the opportunity to come to the Olympics and finish in fourth place,” he said. “It took me a while to get mentally prepared because these last two months have been rough, and I didn’t really trust myself for the first two jumps. But when I saw that I could do it, stuff happened. It’s all a learning curve, and I have never been in a competition like this before, so coming fourth is something I am proud of.”

Minutes after Hibbert had finished his event, Roshawn Clarke also failed to add to the country’s medal tally after he fell in the final of the men’s 400m hurdles.

Clarke, the national record holder in the event, could not recover after hitting the 10th barrier and falling to the track. He did not finish the race.

The event was won by Rai Benjamin of the United States in a season’s best time of 46.46 seconds. Tokyo Games champion Karsten Warholm of Norway finished second in 47.06, while Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos took third in 47.26.

In the 4x100m relay final, Jamaica’s women’s team finished fifth in a time of 42.29. The Jamaicans, who won the event in Tokyo in 2021, fielded the same team that qualified from the semi-finals: Alana Reid, Kemba Nelson, Shashalee Forbes, and Tia Clayton.

This marks the first time since 2008 that the Jamaican women have failed to win a medal in the 4x100m relay. They won back-to-back silver medals in 2012 in London and 2016 in Brazil before the triumph three years ago. The country’s medal tally remains at six — one gold, three silver, and two bronze.