by Alfonz Juck
Tajay Gayle, photo by Watchathletics.com
James Beckford was the 1995 and 2003 WC silver medalist at the long jump, and 1996 Olympic LJ silver medalist. Tajay Gayle broke his National record at the 2019 WC Doha. I met James Beckford in 1995 at a Nike event in Goteborg, Sweden. I saw James take his 2 WC medals and Olympic medal. His final medal was a silver medal in the WC Indoor in Budapest, Hungary in 2004.
I liked James Beckford. His lifetime best of 8.62m, was achieved on April 5, 1997 in Orlando, Florida. It remained the Jamaican National record until Tajay Gayle went 8.69m to win Doha WC in 2019!
James loved the LJ and competed until 2008, and won the 2018 World Masters champs.
His comments on Tajay Gayle should mean alot to the young man.
KINGSTON (JAM): James Beckford, the 1996 Olympic long jump silver medallist, believes world champion compatriot Tajay Gayle can jump further than his 8.69m PB from Doha. The man whose Jamaican record was broken at the Worlds said: “Whoa, this kid is going to do it. He’s so talented. He has so much potential, so much stuff he can improve on because I’ve seen the way he jumps. He’s going to jump farther than this.” From Jamaica Gleaner.
Tajay Gayle, photo by diamondleague.com
