Jackson vs Thomas
Hibbert, Smith to make debuts at Diamond League in Monaco
Published:Friday | July 21, 2023 | 12:07 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
While world 200 metres champion Shericka Jackson and Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas will face each other for the first time since winning their respective national titles, World Under-20 triple jump champion and under-20 world record holder Jaydon Hibbert is relishing the prospect of testing himself at the senior level in his Diamond League debut.
They headline a list of Jamaicans that will be competing at the Diamond League meet in Monaco today starting at 11:40 a.m. (Jamaica time), the second-to-last Diamond League meet before the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Hibbert, who won his second national title two weeks ago, will compete in the men’s triple jump at 1:40 p.m. Jamaica time. He is the world leader with 17.87m. For Hibbert, he is looking forward to competing with the likes of World Championships silver medallist Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso and multiple world and Olympic champion Christian Taylor of the United States
“It’s great competition. I truly look up to everybody, especially when I was younger, I’m super excited to see what the competition is like at this level and just to get my groove on and enjoy myself in Monaco,” Hibbert said in the pre-meet press conference yesterday.
Hibbert said that being invited to participate in the conference made the occasion real for him after a season that included him winning the NCAA indoor and outdoor titles and setting world under-20 records in his first season in college.
GRATEFUL
“Winning all these accomplishments, I’m really grateful. Especially as a teenager not even yet in my prime and zeroing on the triple jump game in college is absolutely crazy. I just want to give God thanks, and I am really excited to continue,” Hibbert said. I have been seeing this on television, and I was, like, ‘Hibby, you can be here one day.’ And now I’m here. I am just enjoying it.”
NCAA long jump champion Ackelia Smith will also be one of the young talents that will be on show. She will be making her Diamond League debut in the women’s long jump at 11:40 a.m. She holds the world-leading mark of 7.08m.
Meanwhile, Jackson, who is coming off a win at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial meet on Tuesday, said that while she doesn’t expect a fast time, she hopes to run a solid 200m at 2:20 p.m.
“I don’t think there will be any fireworks tomorrow (today). But I definitely want to put together a good 200m. I definitely don’t think that right now where my training is at I am at my best to say ‘Tomorrow is a world-leading day.’ But it’s leading up to Budapest. The goal is Budapest, and that is what coach (Paul Francis) and I are working towards,” Jackson, whose season’s best is 21.71 seconds, said.
American Thomas has the fastest time in the world this year (21.60) and the field includes Anthonique Strachan and Julien Alfred, who won her professional debut in the 100m on Tuesday in Hungary, ending the unbeaten run of Sha’Carri Richardson.
In the men’s 100m at 2:52 p.m. 2011 world champion Yohan Blake will line up against training partner Ackeem Blake, compatriot Kishane Thompson, as well as Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala.