Rio Olympics gold medallist Omar McLeod could miss 2018 Commonwealth Games

Omar McLeod
Omar McLeod

What's the story?

Omar McLeod, the 2016 Olympics gold medal winner and World Champion in 110m hurdles could miss out on the 2018 Commonwealth Games which is to be held on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

In case you didn't know...

McLeod won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and followed it up with another yellow metal at the 2017 World Championships held in London.

Recently, he also beat Jamaican track and field legend Usain Bolt to clinch the Jamaican Sportsman of the Year award.

The heart of the matter

The 23-year-old won the gold medal at the 2016 Portland Indoor Championships in 60m hurdles as he clocked his personal best 7.41 seconds. He is looking forward to defending the title in 2018 Birmingham Indoor Championships to be held between March 1 and March 4.

The Commonwealth Games would commence on April 4 and carry on till April 15 which gives McLeod approximately one month to prepare for the event.

“Coach said it’s probably too close to the world indoors,” The Jamaican athlete told Reuters.

“So we’re fearful that we won’t have enough time to unwind and get enough quality base work to take on the outdoor season, so it’s his call,” McLeod said.

What next?

The Jamaican also said that he is looking forward to breaking some records this season. He is eyeing to break the current record of 7.30 seconds in the 60m hurdles held by Colin Jackson and also the 110m hurdles (12.80 seconds) record held by Aries Merritt.

The Olympic medallist will also take part in the Millward Games to be held in New York on February 2.

Author's take

It will be a disappointing news for the fans if the Olympic champion misses out on the 2018 Commonwealth Games as an event of this stature needs top athletes to draw the attention of the people.

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Edited by Argha Bhattacharya