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Tajay Gayle

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Tajay Gayle
Gayle in 2019
Personal information
Born (1996-08-02) 2 August 1996 (age 30)[1]
Kingston, Jamaica[1]
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Sport
CountryJamaica
SportTrack and field
Event
Long jump
ClubMVP T&F Club
Ricketts Club
Coached byStephen Francis
Kerry lee Ricketts
Achievements and titles
Personal bestsLong jump: 8.69m (NR)
100 metres: 10.13s
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Jamaica
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2019 DohaLong jump
Silver medal – second place2025 TokyoLong jump
Bronze medal – third place2023 BudapestLong jump
Diamond League
First place2024 BrusselsLong jump
First place2026 BrusselsLong jump
Second place2023 EugeneLong jump
Third place2019 ZurichLong jump
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2026 GlasgowLong jump
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place2019 LimaLong jump
NACAC Championships
Silver medal – second place2018 TorontoLong jump
Silver medal – second place2022 FreeportLong jump
Updated on 21 August 2022

Tajay Gayle (born 2 August 1996) is a Jamaican long jumper and the 2019 World Champion.

Biography

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Gayle was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He is a graduate of Papine High School in Kingston and he was a member of the MVP track and field club. He was coached by Stephen Francis, [2] who is the former coach of Olympic and World Champion Elaine Thompson-Herah. On September 28, 2019, Gayle became the first Jamaican man to win a World Championship gold in the long jump.[3]

Career

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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).[4]

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.[5]

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he got an injury at his first jump at the qualifying round. He managed to do a 8.14 m (26 ft 8+1⁄4 in) jump at his third attempt, then did 7.69 m (25 ft 2+3⁄4 in) at the final round to rank 11th.

In 2026, Gayle won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland with a jump of 8.15m. [6] A few weeks later at the Wanda Diamond League final in Brussels, Belgium, again victory emerged producing the title and trophy for the second time with a jump of 8.46m. [7]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "GAYLE Tajay". Paris 2024 Olympics. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "Coach Francis surprised by Gayle's long jump national record". RJR News. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  3. ↑ "Ten things to know about Tajay Gayle". Loop Jamaica. Loop sports. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  4. ↑ Tajay Gayle at World Athletics Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ↑ "Report: men's long jump - IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019". IAAF.org. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  6. ↑ "July 30 2026 by Raymond Graham/Gleaner Writer Gayle back on top". Retrieved 7 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "Coach Ricketts hails Gayle's Brussels triumph". Retrieved 7 September 2026.
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