Triple Jumper, Troy Doris, has given Guyana the best chance of breaking its 36 year-old medal jinx at the Olympic Games after he leaped into the final of the event earlier today (Monday) in Rio.
The 27 year-old’s leap of 16.81M placed him in sixth position heading into Tuesday’s finals.
The finals for the triple jump competition begins at at 08:50am on Tuesday.
When he leapt into the finals, he also became the first Guyanese to reach the final of an Olympic event.
An ecstatic Doris after his jump took to social media stating, “I’m excited to finally be an Olympic finalist; time to make history”.
United States Christian Taylor heads the pack of the jumpers with his leap of 17.24M, in an event where the Olympic record stands at 18.09m and the world record is 18.29m.
The country’s last medal at the games came at the Moscow 1980 edition where bantamweight boxer Michael Paris secured a bronze medal, but considering Doris has already reached the 17.18M mark which happens to be the country’s National record and the seventh leading jump in the world currently, a podium finish could be on the cards.
Doris is a Guyanese by naturalisation, with both his parents originating out of East La Penitence, Georgetown. He currently attends the Iowa University in the United States.
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