Omar McLeod

Omar McLeod
McLeod at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships
Personal information
Born (1994-04-25) 25 April 1994
Clarendon, Jamaica
Sport
SportTrack
Event(s)
Hurdles and sprints
College teamArkansas Razorbacks
TeamPUMA[1][2]
Turned pro2015[1][2]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Jamaica
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 110 m hurdles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 London 110 m hurdles
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Portland 60 m hurdles
CACAC Junior Championships (U20)
Gold medal – first place 2012 San Salvador 4 × 400 m relay
CARIFTA Games (U20)
Gold medal – first place 2013 Kingston 400 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2012 Hamilton 400 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2011 Montego Bay 400 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place 2013 Kingston 110 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place 2011 Montego Bay 4 × 400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Hamilton 4 × 400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Montego Bay 110 m hurdles

Omar McLeod (born 25 April 1994) is a Jamaican professional hurdler and sprinter competing in the 60 m hurdles and 110 m hurdles. In the latter event, he is the 2016 Olympic champion and 2017 World champion. He was NCAA indoor champion in the 60 m hurdles in 2014 and 2015 and outdoor champion in the 110 m hurdles in 2015; he turned professional after the 2015 collegiate season, forgoing his two remaining years of collegiate eligibility. His personal best in the 110 m hurdles (12.90 seconds) ranks him equal 7th on the world all-time list.

Early career

McLeod was a promising high school athlete, running for Manchester High School and later Kingston College; during his early career, he competed in both the 110 m and 400 m hurdles.[10][11] He represented Jamaica at the 2011 World Youth Championships in Lille, qualifying for the finals in both hurdles events; he placed fourth in the 110 m hurdles and eighth in the 400 m hurdles.[10] At the CARIFTA Games, he won gold in the under-20 400 m hurdles for three consecutive years (2011, 2012 and 2013); he scored another five medals in the 110 m hurdles and 4 × 400 m relay including a relay gold in 2013.[12][13][14] He also won gold in the relay at the 2012 CAC Junior Championships in San Salvador.[13]

In 2013, his final year in high school, McLeod set Jamaican junior records in both the 110 m (13.24 s) and 400 m hurdles (49.98 s) at the Boys and Girls Championships; he was the first Jamaican high schooler to break 50 s in the latter.[10] After graduating from Kingston College, he went to the University of Arkansas on a track and field scholarship.[10]

Collegiate career

McLeod had no experience running indoors before his move to the United States, but adapted rapidly; he won the 60 m hurdles as a freshman at the 2014 NCAA indoor championships in Albuquerque with a personal best 7.57 s in the heats and 7.58 s in the final.[13][15] Outdoors, he placed second in the 110 m hurdles at both the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships and West Regionals, but pulled a hamstring at the NCAA championships and missed the final.[15]

Omar McLeod racing at the 2016 Doha Diamond League meeting

McLeod returned to competition in 2015; he won the SEC indoor title in a personal best 7.49.[13] At the 2015 NCAA indoor championships he repeated as champion, running 7.55 in the heats and 7.45 in the final; his time in the final was a new Jamaican indoor record, broke Reggie Torian's NCAA record from 1997 and tied with Cuba's Orlando Ortega for the world's fastest time that winter.[13][16][17] Outdoors, McLeod set a personal best of 13.21 at the Drake Relays and won at both the SEC meet and the West Regionals.[13] He entered the NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene as the favorite; he won, running 13.08 in the heats and 13.01 in the final, but both times were wind-aided.[18][19] Only two collegiate athlete, Renaldo Nehemiah in 1979, had run faster in any conditions.[19][20] In addition to his hurdles victory, McLeod ran on the Arkansas relay teams in both the 4 × 100 m relay and the 4 × 400 m relay; Arkansas won the 4 × 100 m in 38.47 and placed sixth in the longer relay.[13][19]

After the 2015 collegiate season McLeod turned professional and signed an endorsement deal with Nike, forgoing his two remaining years as an NCAA athlete; although he stayed at Arkansas to complete his business studies, he lost his eligibility to represent the Arkansas Razorbacks.[11][21]

Professional career

McLeod won the 110 m hurdles at the 2015 Jamaican Championships, defeating national record holder Hansle Parchment in a wind-legal 12.97 and breaking 13 seconds for the first time; the time was world-leading for a week.[22] He made his debut as a professional at the István Gyulai Memorial in Székesfehérvár on 7 July, but pulled up with a cramp and failed to finish.[23]

At the start of the 2016 outdoor season, he ran 9.99 seconds for the 100 metres, becoming the first athlete to complete the 110 m hurdles in under 13 seconds and also break the 10-second barrier.[24]

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won Gold in the 110 m hurdles.

Based on his outstanding athletic performance, McLeod was crowned Jamaica's 2017 Sportsman of the Year. During 2017, he won six of seven 110 m hurdles races, including the World Championships in London.

At the 2019 World Championships, McLeod was disqualified in the final for a lane violation, impeding Orlando Ortega. Ortega was second in the 110 metres hurdles until McLeod stumbled into him and arrested his momentum.[25] After the appeal of the Spanish Federation, the IAAF awarded Ortega with a bronze medal.[26]

Statistics

Information from IAAF profile or Track & Field Results Reporting System unless otherwise noted.[27][28]

Personal bests

Event Time (s) Competition Venue Date Notes
60 m 6.61 Arkansas Qualifier Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. 17 February 2017
60 m hurdles 7.41 World Indoor Championships Portland, Oregon, U.S. 20 March 2016 WL, NR [3][4]
100 m 9.99 John McDonnell Invitational Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. 23 April 2016 +2.0 m/s wind
110 m hurdles 12.90 Jamaican Championships Kingston, Jamaica 24 June 2017 +0.7 m/s wind, WL, NR, CR [6][7]
200 m 20.48 Arkansas Qualifier Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. 17 February 2017 Indoor
400 m 47.41 Arkansas Invitational Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. 9 January 2015 Indoor
400 m hurdles 49.98 Jamaican Secondary School Championships Kingston, Jamaica 15 March 2013 NJR, CR [8][9]
4 × 100 m relay 38.17 Texas Relays Austin, Texas, U.S. 1 April 2017
4 × 200 m relay 1:20.87 Texas Relays Austin, Texas, U.S. 1 April 2017
4 × 400 m relay 3:03.89 Drake Relays Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. 26 April 2014
4 × 400 m relay indoor 3:04.94 SEC Indoor Championships College Station, Texas, U.S. 1 March 2014

Seasonal bests

Year 60 metres hurdles 110 metres hurdles
2011 — 14.10
2012 — 13.83
2013 — 13.24
2014 7.57 13.44
2015 7.45 12.97
2016 7.41 12.98
2017 7.46 12.90
2018 7.46 13.16
2019 — 13.07

International championship results

Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Wind (m/s) Notes
Representing  Jamaica
2011 CARIFTA Games (U20) Montego Bay, Jamaica 1st 400 m hurdles 52.42 n/a PB
3rd 110 m hurdles 14.10 −0.8 PB
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:09.41 n/a PB
World Youth Championships Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France 4th 110 m hurdles 13.61 +0.1 PB
8th 400 m hurdles 52.82 n/a
DNS Medley relay — n/a
2012 CARIFTA Games (U20) Hamilton, Bermuda 1st 400 m hurdles 52.35 n/a
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:12.48 n/a SB
CACAC Junior Championships (U20) San Salvador, El Salvador 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:08.94 n/a PB
World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st (semi 1) 4 × 400 m relay 3:08.83 n/a Q[note 1], PB
2013 CARIFTA Games (U20) Nassau, The Bahamas 1st 400 m hurdles 51.46 n/a
2nd 110 m hurdles 13.57 NWI
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 6th 110 m hurdles 13.18 +0.1
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, Oregon, U.S. 1st 60 m hurdles 7.41 n/a WL, NR [3][4]
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1st 110 m hurdles 13.05 +0.2
2017 World Championships London, England 1st 110 m hurdles 13.04 0.0
DNF 4 × 100 m relay — n/a Teammate injury [29]
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar DQ 110 m hurdles — +0.6 Impeding competitors [30]

National championship results

Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Wind (m/s) Notes
Representing Manchester High School
2012 Jamaican Secondary School Championships (U19) Kingston, Jamaica 3rd 400 m hurdles 51.30 n/a PB
4th 110 m hurdles 14.66 −6.3
Jamaican Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 3rd 400 m hurdles 51.16 n/a PB
3rd 110 m hurdles 13.83 −1.8 PB
Representing Kingston College
2013 Jamaican CARIFTA Trials (U20) Kingston, Jamaica 1st 400 m hurdles 51.05 n/a PB
Jamaican Secondary School Championships (U19) Kingston, Jamaica 1st 400 m hurdles 49.98 n/a NJR, CR, PB [8][9]
1st 110 m hurdles 13.24 +0.4 NJR, CR, PB [8][9]
Representing the Arkansas Razorbacks
2014 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. 1st 60 m hurdles 7.58 n/a A
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:06.29 n/a
NCAA Division I Championships Eugene, Oregon, U.S. DNF (semi 3) 110 m hurdles — +0.2 Injury [8]
2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. 1st 60 m hurdles 7.45 n/a WL, NR, NCAAR, CR, PB [31][32]
8th 4 × 400 m relay 3:08.04 n/a
NCAA Division I Championships Eugene, Oregon, U.S. 1st 110 m hurdles 13.01 w +3.9 Wind-assisted
1st 4 × 100 m relay 38.47 n/a PB
6th 4 × 400 m relay 3:05.91 n/a
Jamaican Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 110 m hurdles 12.97 +1.0 WL, CR, PB [33]
Representing Nike
2016 Jamaican Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 110 m hurdles 13.01 +0.4
2017 Jamaican Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 110 m hurdles 12.90 +0.7 WL, NR, CR, PB [6][7]

Circuit performances

Representing Nike

Grand Slam Track results[34]
Slam Race group Event Pl. Time Prize money
2025 Kingston Slam Short hurdles 110 m hurdles 6th 13.38 US$12,500
100 m 6th 10.73

110 metres hurdles

Track records

As of 7 September 2024, McLeod holds the following track records for 110 metres hurdles.

Location Time Windspeed
m/s 		Date
Coral Gables, Florida 13.27 +0.2 09/04/2022
Florence 13.01 –0.1 10/06/2021
Irvine 13.11 +1.4 14/05/2021
Kingston, Jamaica 12.90 +0.7 24/06/2017
Rio de Janeiro 13.05 +0.2 16/08/2016
Starkville 13.28 +1.9 16/05/2015

Notes

  1. ^ Did not run in the final.

References

  1. ^ a b Taylor Dutch (15 July 2015). "Family and Killer Instincts Guide Omar McLeod Into Pro Career". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b Paul A. Reid (26 June 2015). "Omar McLeod to go pro later this month". jamaicaobserver.com. The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Erik C. Anderson (20 March 2016). "Jamaica's Omar McLeod wins mens 60-meter hurdles at 2016 World Indoor Championships". oregonlive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Paul Reid (20 March 2016). "#WorldIndoors: McLeod wins 60mH in World leading time". jamaicaobserver.com. The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  5. ^ Phil Minshull (24 April 2016). "Hurdler McLeod makes history as a barrier breaker after 9.99 100m win". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Kayon Raynor (24 June 2017). "Athletics: Olympic champion McLeod sets sizzling 110m hurdles pace". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "Omar McLeod: Olympic gold medallist sets sights on 110m hurdles world record". bbc.com. BBC. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e André Lowe (30 December 2014). "Freshman McLeod Creates Big Impression". jamaica-gleaner.com. The Gleaner. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d Steve Landells (11 June 2017). "That moment when… McLeod came top of his class". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d Graham, Raymond (4 August 2013). "McLeod to attend University of Arkansas". The Sunday Gleaner. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  11. ^ a b Reid, Paul A. (26 June 2015). "Omar McLeod to go pro later this month". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  12. ^ Graham, Raymond (April 2013). "Jamaicans continue to dominate at Carifta". The Gleaner.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Omar McLeod at Tilastopaja (subscription required)
  14. ^ "110 Metres Hurdles - men - senior - outdoor - All time best". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Freshman McLeod creates big impression". The Gleaner. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  16. ^ Minshull, Phil (15 March 2015). "World leads for Bromell, Dendy and McLeod at NCAA Indoor Champs". Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  17. ^ Rorick, Jim. "Collegiate Indoor All-Time List - Men". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  18. ^ Auka, John (2 June 2015). "NCAA Formchart—Men". Track & Field News. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  19. ^ a b c Maiman, Beth (13 June 2015). "Arkansas Omar McLeod wins two titles behind memory of his aunt". NCAA.com. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  20. ^ Rorick, Jim. "Collegiate Outdoor All-Time List - Men". Track & Field News. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  21. ^ Ekema-Agbaw, Joy (6 July 2015). "McLeod to Represent Nike on the Professional Circuit". Arkansas Razorbacks. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  22. ^ Levy, Leighton (29 June 2015). "Win takes McLeod closer to Beijing goal". The Gleaner. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  23. ^ Reid, Paul A. (8 July 2015). "VCB clocks first sub-11 in Hungary 100m win". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  24. ^ Ramsak, Bob (2016-04-24). Hurdler McLeod makes history as a barrier breaker after 9.99 100m win. IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-04-24.
  25. ^ Carayol, Tumaini (2 October 2019). "World Athletics Championships 2019: Asher-Smith wins 200m gold – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  26. ^ Homewood, Brian (3 October 2019). "Athletics: Spain's Ortega gets bronze after IAAF agree he was impeded". Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  27. ^ "OMAR MCLEOD ATHLETE PROFILE". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  28. ^ "OMAR MCLEOD JAMAICA". tfrrs.org. Track & Field Results Reporting System. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  29. ^ Chris Chavez (17 August 2017). "Usain Bolt Reveals Left Hamstring Tear From Final Race At World Championships". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  30. ^ "110 Metres Hurdles Men - Final" (PDF). IAAF. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  31. ^ "Omar McLeod of Arkansas Breaks 18-Year Old NCAA Record in Men's 60 Hurdles, Gets Jamaican Mark as Well". letsrun.com. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  32. ^ "McLeod lowers two records on way to NCAA glory". trackalerts.com. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  33. ^ Kayon Raynor; Greg Stutchbury (27 June 2015). "McLeod upsets Parchment in 110m hurdles in Jamaica trials". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  34. ^ "Grand Slam Track Results". Grand Slam Track. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
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