Another Jamaican joins Arkansas jumps crew

YET ANOTHER Jamaican is joining the jumps programme at the University of Arkansas. The man on the move is 2018 Youth Olympic Games finalist Apalos Edwards, who is transferring from Louisiana State University (LSU).

Edwards won gold and silver for Jamaica College at Boys and Girls’ Championships in 2018 and 2019 before he left for the United States. At LSU, he continued to produce results with a bronze medal at the NCAA Championships in 2022.

His ability is highly rated by Arkansas jumps coach Travis Geopfert.

“I think he knows what he needs and that’s just creating more consistency and still, mega talent,” said Geopfert, who is also the man behind outgoing senior, Carey McLeod, Wayne Pinnock, and Jaydon Hibbert.

“That guy’s bouncy. He’s elastic,” he raved about the 22-year-old who twinned his Class Two triple jump gold medal to a bronze in the high jump in 2018.

In 2019, Edwards was second in Class One at Champs, third at the Carifta Games and the Penn Relays and ninth at the Pan-Am Under-20 Championships. With his move to Arkansas, he is joining a successful team of jumpers.

McLeod and Pinnock went one-two at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the long jump and Hibbert was the triple jump NCAA winner indoors and outdoors.

Moreover, following their performances at the recent National Championships in Kingston, all three will represent Jamaica at next month’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Hibbert is heading to Hungary as a medal favourite after a season where he scored the longest triple jump of the year so far – 17.87 metres. That mark is the world record for jumpers under 20 years of age.

Geopfert has high hopes for Edwards, who started his athletic endeavours as a high jumper at New Providence Primary in Kingston.

“You can see it in him, and I think we’ve just got to have a long game and our approach to it, in terms of making sure he’s healthy and stays healthy for consistent training. So that’s the main thing, staying healthy for consistent training and then let the results come from there,” said the coach.

If everything goes well, Edwards’ transfer could prove timely for the University of Arkansas because McLeod has just completed his collegiate eligibility.

McLeod, a Jamaican Olympian in 2021, will now be competing as a professional.