Big jump for Ja’s McLeod at Doha Diamond League

LONG JUMPER Carey McLeod won his pet event at the Doha Wanda Diamond League meet yesterday.

Competing in the third leg of the Diamond League series, McLeod, the fourth-place finisher at last year’s Budapest World Athletics Championships, won the event after leaping to a wind-assisted 8.52 metres (plus 5.2 metres per second wind). Tokyo Olympic Games champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece ended second with a season’s best 8.36m while Tajay Gayle, the other Jamaican in the event, was fifth with 8.01m.

McLeod was very pleased with his performance.

“The result today was good apart from the wind. It is a good feeling as in order to win I had to jump something amazing. I will just go home to see how good I can prepare for the next competition. To jump 8.52 is amazing, I feel good and the crowd was also amazing,” said McLeod who was fourth at the Xiamen meet.

It was tough going for the other three Jamaicans at the meet. Natoya Goule-Toppin was sixth in the 800 metres while there were seventh-place finishes for sprinters Natasha Morrison and Andrew Hudson.

Goule clocked a season’s best 1:59.74 in the 800m which was won by World champion, Mary Moraa of Kenya in a season’s best 1:57.91. World Indoor silver medallist, Jemma Reekie of Great Britain, placed second in 1:58,42.

Morrison clocked a season’s best 11.37 seconds in the women’s 100 metres as Great Britain’s Darryl Neita continued her good 2024 form. Neita who won the 200m in Shanghai raced to victory in a season’s best 10.98. The United States duo of Tamari Davis and Celera Barnes took second and third in 10.99 and 11.02 respectively.

Hudson also clocked a season’s best 20.53 seconds in the 200m for seventh spot. The half-lap event was won in a personal best and world leading 19.67 by American Kenny Bednarek. The time was also a meet record. Americans Courtney Lindsay (20.01) and Kyree King (20.21) were second and third respectively in the event.

Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas also scored a win at the meet after clocking 44.76 seconds to capture the men’s 400 metres.