Bronze medal for Carey McLeod in World Indoor long jump
GLASGOW, Scotland – Arkansas alum Carey McLeod earned a bronze medal in the long jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championships with a leap of 26 feet, 11.25 inches (8.21), just a half inch from the gold medal position.
Three jumpers were separated by half an inch in deciding the medal distribution during Saturday’s morning session. Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece and Italy’s Mattia Furlani both jumped 26-11.75 (8.22) with Tentoglou awarded the gold medal based on a better secondary mark of 26-10.5 (8.19) in his series compared to a 26-7 (8.10) for Furlani.
McLeod is the first medalist for Jamaica at World Indoors in 20 years when James Beckford claimed a silver medal in 2004. Previous Razorback medalists at World Indoors include Erick Walder, a bronze medalist in 1995 and 1999, while Mike Conley earned a bronze medal in 1989.
“I think it was a matter of figuring out my running,” noted McLeod, who registered his best mark in the fifth round. “It just took me a while to get going. I knew I had to come out here and do something special. I was just 1cm shy of that gold medal. But I’m so grateful. I’m kind of used to the pressure. I think I jump better under pressure.
“Whenever you want to see the best of me just put me under a little bit of pressure. That’s when I get going. This has given me a confidence boost coming up to Paris, especially as I’ll be coming out of these worlds and vying for a place. Now I need to go back to the drawing board and keep working and keep pushing.”
A total of four Arkansas alums were among the field of 16 jumpers. Jarrion Lawson finished fifth with a mark of 26-5.5 (8.06), which tied him with the fourth-place position, but his secondary mark of 26-0 (7.92) left him trailing the 26-1.75 (7.97) for Germany’s Simon Batz, who hit his best mark in the final round. Lawson previously finished fourth at World Indoors in 2018 and 2022.
Andreas Trajkovski of Macedonia finished 12th at 25-4.5 (7.73) while LaQuan Nairn of the Bahamas placed 15th with a 24-11 (7.59).