McLeod: Take care of yourself first
Published:Saturday | June 18, 2022 | 12:07 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Former World and Olympic champion Omar McLeod says he was not in the proper frame of mind or physical readiness to compete in Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Oslo, Norway.
McLeod was scheduled to face American Devon Allen in the men’s 110 metres hurdles but did not face the starter in his what was supposed to be his final meet before next weekend’s National Senior Championships.
In an Instagram post yesterday, McLeod said he was not mentally ready to compete as he was dealing with a death in his family.
“As athletes, being able to compartmentalise is very important and something that we must master in order to be at the highest level. Yesterday I just couldn’t do that . I wasn’t strong enough this time around and that’s OK,” McLeod said. “Not being able to be at my little cousin’s funeral plagued my mind as I was feeling so much guilt that it messed with my sleep on top of dealing with jet lag and so I just simply did not trust myself enough to go out there and compete under the mental state.”
McLeod went further to say that he was not being able to respond physically in his preparations and with the National Trials just days away, he decided to withdraw from the meet.
“Also physically, my body was not responding so I made the hard decision not to run being that the World Championships trials is next weekend,” McLeod said.
McLeod has competed in three 110m hurdles races this season, his last being in May at the Diamond League meet in Birmingham, England, where he clocked 13.17 seconds, which is a season’s best. However, in those three races, he has finished no lower than second place.
He said that it was important for athletes to prioritise their mental health despite the demands of competing at the highest level.
“We go through so much pressure to show up and compete at our very best every time we step out there that sometimes we forget to prioritise our mental health or to simply just listen to our bodies,” McLeod said. “Always make sure that you take care of yourself first.”