Hibbert preparing to take on the world again

Jamaican triple jump prodigy Jaydon Hibbert has recovered from the hamstring strain that stopped him at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Back in training at the University of Arkansas, Hibbert is building his fitness base for 2024 and beyond.

Asked yesterday for an assessment of Hibbert’s current condition, Arkansas jumps coach Travis Geopfert replied, “He’s doing well. We’re just getting out of the second block of training, so things are going well.”

Hibbert, the 2022 World Under-20 champion, led qualifying in Budapest with a super jump taped at 17.70 metres, and stepped forward to start his efforts in the final when disaster struck.

“It was a grade one, slight hamstring strain, right at the take-off. He felt something, felt the twinge, and, obviously, we were hopeful that it was just like a cramp, but he kept trying to go and we passed the second jump. I wanted him to feel confident he could sprint before we got back on the runway,” the coach said of the situation in Budapest.

“I could tell it just wasn’t 100 per cent,” he added. “It was emotional at the time but, when you’re in that moment, you have to figure out what is best for this young man right now”, Geopfert explained.

Coach Geopfert reported that the 18-year-old Hibbert, who won NCAA titles for Arkansas indoors and outdoors, has also recovered from the disappointment of not being able to jump for a medal.

“I think he’s doing well. It’s difficult, it’s difficult for anyone. It’s really difficult for a young man that’s only 18 years old and, you know, I think, as a coach, when you do this, you have a really good indication of where people are at, what they’re going to do in competitions, and I don’t like to talk numbers specifically but, having worked with multiple athletes, I was extremely confident that he’d end up over 18 metres,” he said.

Such a jump would have extended his personal best and world leading jump from 17.87 metres, broken James Beckford’s national record of 17.92 and placed him on par with an elite band of just six men who have jumped past the 18-metre marker.

“I can say I was really confident that he was going to have a personal best,” the coach added, “and, when that happened, it was completely out of left field.”

Coach and athlete are now looking ahead.

“He’s working on building a really strong base, so he can continue to develop over a long course of time, and finding joy in the process of training,” Geopfert revealed.

Hibbert, who emerged at Kingston College with long jump and triple jump doubles at Boys and Girls’ Championships and the Carifta Games in 2022 and a 2021 World Under-20 silver, is a straight ‘A’ student as well.

“He’s truly a student-athlete. He’s taking his studies seriously and managing his time really well,” Geopfert reported.