Coach Ricketts hails Gayle’s Brussels triumph

Coach Kerry-Lee Ricketts says he was very impressed with Tajay Gayle’s performance after the Jamaican long jumper secured his second Wanda Diamond League title in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday.

Gayle, the 2019 World champion, produced his best jump of the season when he soared 8.46 metres on his final attempt to snatch victory from Olympic and World champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, who had taken the lead with a jump of 8.40m.

Jamaica’s other competitor in the event, Wayne Pinnock, finished fifth with a best effort of 7.94m.

Ricketts, who has been coaching the 30-year-old Gayle for the past two seasons, was pleased with how his athlete executed their plan, but he added that there is still more to come.

“His performance was excellent. Everything went to plan, and we are happy and we are grateful for this performance, but we are still not where we want to be,” Ricketts said.

According to Ricketts, the conditions were far from ideal, making Gayle’s performance even more impressive.

“The conditions were not conducive (for good jumping) because there was a lot of negative breeze, it was raining and it was very cold as well, and so we still have bigger things to come,” he said.

Ricketts also pointed out that the Diamond League Final had been a major target for Gayle this season, particularly as there is no Olympic Games or World Championships this year.

“Tajay is a championship-type athlete and the Diamond League Final is like a major championship because there is no Olympic Games or World Championships this year,” Ricketts said.

“So we just focused on two major championships this year, and his programme was geared towards him peaking at the Diamond League Final. So we came into this meet with one thing on our mind, which was to collect the diamond.”

Ricketts noted that he and Gayle spoke before the Jamaican took his final attempt, with the athlete subsequently making important adjustments to his approach.

“He was in second place and then got pushed down to third, and we had a conversation before he took his last jump. He made some adjustments as well, where the board was concerned, and he basically went and demonstrated what he is capable of doing,” Ricketts said. “We went and got a season’s best jump to win the event.”