Tajay Gayle

Tajay Gayle (born August 2, 1996) is a Jamaican long jumper and the current World Champion.

Tajay Gayle
Personal information
NationalityJamaican
Born (1996-08-02) August 2, 1996
Kingston, Jamaica
Sport
CountryJamaica
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Long jump
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Long jump: 8.69 m
100 metres: 10.42 s
Medal record
World Championships
2019 DohaLong jump
Pan American Games
2019 LimaLong jump
Updated on 28 September 2019.

Biography

Gayle was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He is a graduate of Papine High School in Kingston and he is a member of the MVP track club. He is coached by Stephen Francis[1], who also coaches Olympic and World Champions Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. On September 28, 2019, Gayle became the first Jamaican man to win a World Championship gold in the long jump.[2]

Career

He became an 8-meter jumper in 2017, improving from 7.54 m (24 ft 8 3⁄4 in) the year before. Gayle finished fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and took the silver medal at the 2018 NACAC Championships, where he improved his personal best to 8.24 m (27 ft 1⁄4 in).[3]

His current personal best is 8.69 m (28 ft 6 in), achieved on September 28, 2019 in Doha, where he became World Champion. He claimed the gold in an upset of the heavily favored Cuban long jumper Juan Miguel Echevarría. He also beat the 2016 Olympic champion Jeff Henderson and the 2017 World Champion Luvo Manyonga. His 8.69 m (28 ft 6 in) jump put him at number 10 in the IAAF all-time list.[4]

References
  1. "Coach Francis surprised by Gayle's long jump national record". RJR News. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  2. "Ten things to know about Tajay Gayle". Loop Jamaica. Loop sports. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  3. Tajay Gayle at World Athletics
  4. "Report: men's long jump - IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019| News | iaaf.org". www.iaaf.org. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
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