‘DEFINITE POSSIBILITY’

IF HE stays healthy, Hansle Parchment could be a medal contender at the 2024 Olympics. That is the view from Maurice Wignall, the dean of Jamaica’s sprint hurdlers. In addition, he sees good days ahead for Omar McLeod.

Asked to evaluate Parchment’s stated intention to bid for a medal in 2024, Wignall said: “The short answer to that is yes. However, it comes with some conditions. He has been inconsistent for the past many years, and if he’s able to be healthy at that point and have a body of work behind him in terms of training, that’s a definite possibility.”

Wignall, Jamaica’s first two-time Olympic finalist, notes how tight the 110-metre hurdles has become.

“Back in the day it was still competitive, but you didn’t have such a large number of competitors at that level. While you had maybe six or seven persons who could probably win, right now, if six persons are out, you can find 12 others that can win. So it’s very intense and competitive every time they step on the track,” the 2006 Commonwealth champion observed.

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY

Noting that Parchment is now heading for his 32nd birthday, Wignall added: “With COVID now, you don’t have that many opportunities. Every time you need to seize the opportunity, everybody’s going to be at those meets, so you’re going to have to be running like your fastest time every time you run.

“It’s going to take wear and tear on the body. That’s going to put problems on you. So if you can sustain a good level of fitness and, I guess, intensity and competition, then fine.”

Wignall is speaking from experience, having made the 2008 Olympic final and two World Championship finals after he passed 30 years of age.

He’s bullish on McLeod, the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World champion.

“I actually have Omar to do better than all the Jamaicans, because I figure Omar’s situation wasn’t necessarily physical. Yes, he had cramps at the Trials, but it was more mental for me,” said the man who won a bronze at the World Indoor Championships in 2004.

The cramp held back McLeod to eighth place at the National Senior Championships.

“If he conquered his mental ails and he’s able to keep a steady mind, he’ll do great things because Omar is the fastest hurdler so far in terms of what he has accomplished over the 100-metre and the hurdles,” Wignall praised.

With lifetime bests of 9.99 and 12.90 seconds, respectively, McLeod is the only man to have run sub-10 and sub-13 in athletics history.

Wignall feels that if he can harness his speed, he will move back into prominence.

“He’s quick. His technique is not the greatest, but he’s quick and he can get over it. And if he can get out in front, hurdle eight, hurdle nine, anyone who wants to catch him have to catch him after he passes the line,” Wignall prognosticated.