JAYDON Hibbert is not ruling out becoming the first man to win the long/triple jump double at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships when the biennial event is held in Lima, Peru, from August 27-30. He got his quest off to a winning start, winning the junior boys’ long jump with a wind-aided 7.98m (3.1m/s) on Friday’s second day of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) national championships at the National Stadium.

Breaking barriers is nothing new for the precocious 19-year-old who has left a long list of records in his wake in his rampage through the triple jump over the last three years, including attaining World Under-20 records for both indoors and outdoors, and triumphs at the World Under-20 Championships and Carifta Games.

Hibbert , who was contesting a long jump event for the first time in two years, also had a legal mark of 7.73m (1.2m/s), easily passing the qualifying mark of 7.56m for the World Under-20.

Michael-Andre Edwards of Jamaica College was second with a wind-aided 7.57m (4.8m/s), and St Elizabeth Technical’s Ricoy Hunter was third with a wind-aided 7.33m (2.7m/s).

During an interview with the Jamaica Observer Hibbert, who will contest the junior boys’ triple jump on Sunday’s final day of the championships, said he had wanted to do the double since the 2022 staging in Cali, Colombia, where he set the Championships record 17.27m. He added: “I also wanted to focus on tripling that year but now I’m really encouraged to do it, both long and the triple.”

Despite not competing in the event since 2022 Hibbert said he was not surprised he performed well.

“I definitely expected to go over 7.80m or at least 7.70m; I wanted to go at least 8.00m but the wind and everything kind of messed up everything, but I’m still proud of the performance today.”

He said after such a long time off it was not hard to get back into the different rhythm of the long jump. “I actually took like one day. Well, it was two weeks ago that I did one training session and that was it,” he explained.

Gary Card of Wolmer’s Boys’ and Thieanna-Lee Terrelonge of Edwin Allen won the respective junior boys’ and girls’ 100m titles, both running lifetime bests.

Card ran 10.07 seconds (0.0m/s) — the second fastest ever by a Jamaican junior — to win the boys’ 100m, holding off Deandre Daley (10.16)and with Nyrone Wade running 10.36.

Aaliyah Foster contests the girls’ long jump during the junior national championships at the National Stadium on Friday. (Photo: Collin Reid)

Terrelonge dominated the girls’ race, winning in 11.13, ahead of Shanoya Douglas (11.28). Sabrina Dockery was third in 11.29.

Former Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association Athletics Championships (ISSA) Class 1 winner Aaliyah Foster, now of University of Texas, won the Girls’ 19 and Under long jump with a best of 6.18m (-0.1m/s). She beat St Catherine High’s Rohana Sudlow who jumped 6.12m (-1.3m/s), and Shemonique Hazle of Hydel High who recorded 5.81m (0.3m/s).

ISSA Championships Class 1 winner Daniel Wright won the Boys’ 19 and Under 400m hurdles in a personal best 49.88, the third best so far in the world. He beat his previous best of 50.71 set earlier this season.

Herbert Morrison Technical’s Trevoy Smith was second in a new lifetime best 50.92, while Brandon Harris of St Jago High was third in 51.44.

Kelly-Ann Carr of Edwin Allen won the Girls’ 19 and Under 400m hurdles with 57.66. Rhianna Lewis of Rhodes Hall High ran a personal best 59.68 for second place, and Dschanique Douglas of Excelsior High took third in 59.72.

Shaiquan Dunn of Jamaica College won the Boys’ 19 and Under shot put with 18.91m, beating two throwers from Munro College. Devonti Edwards threw a personal best 17.23m for second and Javontae Smith, who also had a personal best 16.93m, was third.

Dylan DeCambre of Virginia Tech won the Boys’ 19 and Under 1500m with 3:59.75 minutes, well ahead of William Knibb Memorial’s Thywaine Sterling (4:17.30) and Odane Davidson (4:18.65).

Daniel Wright competes in the boys’ 400m final during the junior
national championships at the National Stadium on Friday.
(Photo: Collin Reid)

Winner Thieanna Terrelonge (right) motors away from third-placed finisher Sabrina Dockery during the junior national championships at the National Stadium on Friday. (Photo: Collin Reid)