Jamaican sensation Romian Beckford leaps into Olympic high jump finals

Jamaican rising star Romian Beckford, is expected to achieve heights, as he qualifies for the final stage of men’s high jump event in Paris Olympics 2024, to be held on Saturday.

Beckford is contesting in his first Olympic Games and has already set his mark this season as the Jamaican high jumper of the year; he leapt a height of 2.27 meters at the NCAA Division One Championships.

As for the preliminary rounds on Wednesday at the Stade de France stadium, Beckford came up with a best clearance of 2.24 meters as he stretched up to get into Top 12 of the event.

This performance is on the same level with four other athletes, although he outperformed Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, who equalled with Qatar’s Mutaz Issa Barshim to win the gold medal at pandemic-hit Tokyo Olympics after both scaled the 2.37 meters.

As seen, none of the finalists, including the joint defending Olympic champions Barshim and Tamberi, was able to clear the automatic qualifying height of 2.29 meters.

The degree of competition in Paris seems to be rather high and athletes seem to be unable to find the optimal level of their performances. However, they are all through to the final backed by hard work and strategy which has been exhibited by the athletes.

Beckford’s clearance of 2.24 meters puts him in a good standing as he gets ready for the final. His competitors are South Africa’s Brian Raats and Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk, who also jumped 2.24 meters, contesting with seven other jumpers including Shelby McEwen of United States, who cleared the bar with a stretch of 2.27 meters.

When the finals are due, much concentration would be on Beckford and whether he would be able to rise to that occasion. As the stage is all set for a cliff hanger and nail-biting finish in Paris, Jamaica will be hoping that their new high jump sensation can come up with a medal.