High jumper Distin signs pro contract with Puma
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Commonwealth Games champion and World Championships finalist Lamara Distin, announced on Thursday that she has signed a professional deal with German sporting goods giant Puma.
Distin, who will represent Jamaica at the Paris Olympics next month, made the announcement with a post on her X social media account with the caption “Excited to announce that I’m stepping into the next chapter of my career with Puma!”
Lamara Distin signs professional contract with Puma (Photo: Instagram/Lamara Distin)
The three-time NCAA champion while at Texas A&M University is ranked third in the world after improving her Jamaican national indoor record to 2.00m earlier this season. She also has an outdoor best of 1.97m.
Distin is the second Jamaican national champion in a jumps event to sign a professional contract with Puma in recent weeks after long/triple jumper Ackelia Smith gave up her final year of eligibility at the University of Texas-Austin after turning professional.
Smith, who won the women’s long jump title at the JAAA National Championships, will compete in both horizontal jumps in Paris.
Both Distin and Smith represented Jamaica at the two most recent World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in 2022 and Budapest, Hungary in 2023 as well as the Commonwealth Games in 2023.
-Paul A Reid