Carey McLeod’s competition had started like a dream, with this second attempt at 8.27m which augured for him the first world medal of his career, behind the untouchable Miltiadis Tentoglou (8.52m) and Wayne Pinnock (8. 50m). That was before the 25-year-old Jamaican athlete’s third jump, during the length competition of these 2023 World Athletics Championships, Thursday evening in Budapest.
At the end of its run-up, it lost its balance and took off in an improbable way… head forward! After a completely mind-boggling leap, in Superman mode, all the same beyond 8 meters (!!!) even if the mark was not validated, Carey McLeod remained prostrate in the sand for a few seconds. We then feared a serious injury to his hands, given his crazy reception.
The second best jump cost McLeod bronze in extremis
If he ended up getting up and trying to reassure a Hungarian public dumbfounded by this WTF +++ jump, the Jamaican could not defend his chances for the rest of the competition. Very reduced after this big scare, he was only able to jump to 6.57 m during his fourth attempt and 7.19 m on his last jump, after having completely skipped the fifth.
The height of misfortune for Carey McLeod, he was still on the podium of these Worlds until the sixth attempt of his compatriot Tajay Gayle. But this one in turn flew to 8.27 m, exactly the same mark as our cursed athlete of the day. In such a configuration of equality, it is the author of the second best jump who wins, and this was obviously for Tajay Gayle, bronze medalist so Thursday evening (8.17 m against 7.90 m), seen as the Carey McLeod contest was truncated. Don’t worry about a thing Carey, we’re with you.