Mum’s the word as Pinnock, McLeod advance
...Gayle fails to make the cut
PARIS, France — Sunday morning’s session proved successful for 66 per cent of Jamaica’s long jump medal hopefuls as Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod eased through to the final, but there was no room for former World Champion Tajay Gayle.
All three left the competition arena in a hurry, not wishing to comment, but for vastly different reasons.
Pinnock was already focussed on Tuesday’s medal shoot-out, hurrying off for a cool-down session to ensure his full fitness when action resumes for the 12 qualifiers.
The youngest of the trio at 23 made life easier for himself by unveiling a 7.96-metre jump with the first of his three efforts.
Although subsequently being surpassed by six other athletes, his place among those destined to continue in the competition was never in doubt
Only Greece’s reigning Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, with a leap of 8.32m, and Radek Juska, from the Czech Republic, who equalled the 8.15m automatic qualifying mark, booked their places immediately while many others had nervous waits to see if they could make the top dozen.
Among them was McLeod, the Clarendon native who was agonisingly edged out of the medals and into fourth place at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The University of Tennessee communications graduate put in a leap of 7.90m with his second jump, then watched as a sizeable clutch of his rivals clustered around that mark.
Ultimately just five centimetres separate six jumpers with the Jamaican’s effort just getting him ‘over the line’ in 11th place.
There was less joy for national record holder Gayle, who never reached the heights (or lengths) of his Doha gold medal winning days, and unfortunately, was forced to bow out with a best jump of 7.78m. That left him in 19th place, so ending his involvement in the competition.
Gayle cut a very disappointed figure as he exited the Paris Games without wanting to speak to an inquisitive bunch of journalists.
Wayne Pinnock competes in the Men’s Long Jump during the Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday. (Photos: Naphtali Junior)
