Jaheel Hyde chasing Winthrop Graham

When Jaheel Hyde settles into the blocks for the final of the 400-metre hurdles at the 19th Pan American Games today he will carry Jamaica’s fine heritage in the event with him. If he wins the event he will match Winthrop Graham who won the nation’s first Pan Am Games medal in the discipline.

Despite chilly conditions in Santiago, Chile, Hyde clocked 49.72 seconds in his heat on Wednesday. His path to the podium has been made a little easier as the fastest entrant, Chris Robinson of the United States, did not report for his first round heat. Robinson has a personal best of 48.12 which he did this year, a touch better than Hyde’s 2023 best of 48.45.

Hyde, the 2022 World Championship finalist, was the fastest hurdler across the two heats with just one other person - Brazilian Mathias Lima at 49.94 - breaking 50.

Jamaica has a good recent record in the Pan American Games 400m hurdles with Isa Phillips, Roxroy Catio and Kemar Mowatt reaching the podium in 2011, 2015 and 2019 respectively. However, only one Jamaican - Winthrop Graham in 1987 - has ever won the gold medal.

Graham went on to win silver medals at the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Olympic Games and bronze at the 1993 World Champs.

In addition, Dean Griffiths took the Pan American Games bronze in 2003.

There is one note of caution, however. Hyde’s last race was his semi-final run at the World Championships in Budapest when he clocked 48.49. That was more than two months ago.

The statistics provide hope. Lima is the second-fastest man left in the field on times done this year and he is far behind Hyde, 49.10 to 48.45 for the 26 year-old Jamaican. Marcio Soares, the other Brazilian in the final, has the second-fastest personal best in the field at 48.60, but Hyde is light years ahead with the 48.03 he ran in the 2022 World Championships final.

A medal in Santiago would add to the bronze and silver the Jamaican earned at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. These honours followed those he won as an under-20 and under-18. He took the 110m hurdles 10 years ago at the World Under-18 Championships and in the 2014 and 2016 World Under-20 Championships, he first won and then defended his title in the intermediate hurdles.