London , England — Having conquered the 110m hurdles event, Omar McLeod will now be venturing into other areas culminating with attempts to represent Jamaica in the 100m and 200m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
McLeod, who turned 23 years old in April, has the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) outdoor title in 2014; the IAAF World Indoor 60m title in 2015; the Olympic crown in 2016 and now the World Championships crown.
“Why settle? I want to be historic,” said McLeod moments after he copped gold inside the iconic London Olympic Stadium.
“I am not just about hurdling…world indoor, Olympic, world champion, I think I have done it all for hurdling. I just need to just break that world record,” he noted with a wide smile.
“You guys know that the 200m is my favourite event,” he quipped.
The former Manchester High School and Kingston College star had both the 110m and 400m hurdles record at Champs of 13.24secs and 49.98secs, which were national junior records in 2013. He was the first Jamaican high schooler to break the 50-second barrier.
McLeod then went to the University of Arkansas where he became NCAA champion over the 110m hurdles before turning pro in 2015.
In July, McLeod was slated to participate in the 100m at the Monaco Diamond League where he was to have challenged Usain Bolt.
“We wanted to run the 100m in Monaco, but I didn’t get my visa in time. I wanted to cut my season off but I know I want to run a 100m. So hopefully I get to run a 100m or 200m even before,” he added.
Following his 13.04secs gold medal run, McLeod claimed that he would be running the opening leg on Jamaica’s 4x100m relay, something he did a few months ago, while in the United States.
“The last time was couple months ago with my pro group and we ran 38.1secs. I started the relay and I have been starting in college. So I am pretty used to that leg,” he pointed out.
“There are a lot of guys that will run the heat, so I am trying to stay fresh. I love representing my country and whatever I can do, I will do it,” said McLeod. (Howard Walker/ Jamaica Observer)
