Omar McLeod

Omar McLeod
Personal information
NationalityJamaican
Born (1994-04-25) 25 April 1994 (age 29)
Clarendon, Jamaica
Sport
SportTrack
Event(s)Hurdles and sprints
College teamArkansas Razorbacks
TeamPUMA
Turned pro2015
Achievements and titles
Personal bests

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. 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. 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. He also won gold in the relay at the 2012 CAC Junior Championships in San Salvador.

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. After graduating from Kingston College, he went to the University of Arkansas on a track and field scholarship.

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. 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.

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. 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. Outdoors, McLeod set a personal best of 13.21 at the Drake Relays and won at both the SEC meet and the West Regionals. 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. Only two collegiate athlete, Renaldo Nehemiah in 1979, had run faster in any conditions. 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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

Based on his outstanding athletic performance, Mcleod was recently crowned Jamaica's 2017 Sportsman of the Year. During 2017, he won six of seven 110m 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. After the appeal of the Spanish Federation, the IAAF awarded Ortega with a bronze medal.

Statistics

Information from IAAF profile or Track & Field Results Reporting System unless otherwise noted.

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
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
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
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, 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
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
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar DQ 110 m hurdles +0.6 Impeding competitors

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
1st 110 m hurdles 13.24 +0.4 NJR, CR, PB
Representing the Arkansas Razorbacks
2014 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships Albquerque, 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
2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. 1st 60 m hurdles 7.45 n/a WL, NR, NCAAR, CR, PB
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
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

Circuit wins

Representing Nike

110 metres hurdles


This page was last updated at 2023-12-23 01:56 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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