Ricketts to challenge Cuban dominance

SHANIEKA RICKETTS remains the most consistent Jamaican female in field events at the global level. She won silver in the triple jump at the Doha World Championships in 2019, Eugene in 2022, and at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Ricketts, the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist in Birmingham, will now aim for the top of the podium when she contests the event next week at the Tokyo World Championships.

A year ago, with Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas – the four-time world champion – out injured, it seemed a golden opportunity for Ricketts to strike in Paris. However, she was upstaged by Thea Lafond of Dominica.

This season, Ricketts is ranked fifth in the world with a best of 14.64 metres, which came at the Rome Diamond League. She will be joined in the event by Ackelia Smith, but it is Ricketts who will carry Jamaica’s hopes. Based on form, though, it will not be easy for her to medal.

She has struggled this year. In her last three meets before Tokyo, her marks were 14.23m, 14.29m, and 14.35m. To be in contention, she will need big improvement. Smith, with a season’s best 14.44m, will hope to make the final eight.

History could be made in Tokyo with Cuba threatening a clean sweep. At the Zurich Diamond League they dominated, finishing 1-2-3, and they look ready to repeat that performance.

World leader and Diamond League champion Leyanis Hernández Pérez heads the Cuban charge. She has cleared 14.93m this season and won in Zurich with 14.91. Teammates Liadagmis Povea, with 14.84, and Davisleydi Velazco, who did a personal best of 14.72 for third in Zurich, are also in top form.

The Cubans are clear favourites, but Ricketts has a knack for strong starts and could put her rivals under pressure early. Lafond, the Olympic champion with a best of 14.62 this season, cannot be counted out, while America’s Jasmine Moore, with 14.68, will also be hunting an upset.

On current form, however, Cuba looks set for a podium sweep, with Hernández Pérez, the Budapest bronze medallist, appearing almost untouchable.

TOP THREE

1.Leyanis Hernandez Perez (Cuba)

2. Liadagmis Povea (Cuba)

3.Davisleydi Velazco (Cuba)