Jamaica Announces Olympic Team

KINGSTON, Jamaica – One of the premier track and field teams in the world, the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) announced its Olympic delegates Tuesday for the 2016 Olympic Games on August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The newly formed Team Jamaica features four members among the delegates announced – Kemoy Campbell, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Omar McLeod, and Clive Pullen – that are current or former University of Arkansas student-athletes.

The announcement was made following the final day of qualification permitted by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Campbell-Brown is the lone returning Olympian of the four Razorback Jamaican qualifiers, having first represented Jamaica in 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing) and a fourth time in 2012 (London).

Two of the three new Arkansas Olympians — McLeod and Pullen — train in Fayetteville, Arkansas, under the guidance of their respective college event coaches.

Team Jamaica – Men

Following a breakthrough year, Pullen continued to build on his collegiate success. The NCAA Indoor Triple Jump champion, Pullen became the first Jamaican to qualify for the Olympics after setting a personal best of 16.90m/55-5 1/2 and claiming gold at the National Senior Championships.

The national record holder in the 5,000, Campbell defended his crown in the event cruising to a first place finish. Campbell, a 2015 Razorback graduate, already met the Olympic standard after posting the second-best time in Arkansas history with a 13:20.39 in the event at the 2015 Payton Jordan Invitational.

An already accomplished professional in his first full season on the circuit, McLeod has won a World Indoor Championships title in the 60-meter hurdles and is the only hurdler in the world under 13 seconds in the 110 hurdles. McLeod returned home to claim his second-straight 110-meter hurdle title at the National Senior Championships with a time of 13.01.

Team Jamaica – Women

A highly-decorated Olympian, Campbell-Brown looks to add more hardware to an already impressive collection. A two-time gold medal champion in the 200 from the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, Campbell-Brown focused in on booking her fifth appearance to the Olympic Games. The seven-time Olympic medalist sealed her trip to Rio with a 22.80 in the 200 and added a fourth place finish in the 100 solidifying her as part of the 4-x-100 relay team as well.

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