James Beckford (athlete), Date of Birth, Place of Birth
TweetJames Beckford (athlete)
Jamaican long and triple jumper
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Saint Mary Parish, Antigua and Barbuda
About James Beckford (athlete)
- James Beckford (born 9 January 1975 in Saint Mary, Jamaica) is a Jamaican track and field athlete competing in the long jump.
- He represented Jamaica at the Olympic level in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
- He was the silver medallist in the long jump at the 1996 Olympics and also has two silvers from the World Championships in Athletics (from 1995 and 2003).
- He was chosen as the Jamaica Sportsman of the Year for 1995, 1996 and 2003.
- He is the current holder of the Jamaican record for the triple jump with a mark of 17.92 m, and was also the holder of the long jump record at 8.62m until September 28.
- 2019 when it was replaced with a mark of 8.69 m by Tajay Gayle at the World Championships in Athletics in Doha, Qatar. Beckford was educated in the United States and began his athletics career there, specialising in the horizontal jumps.
- He took the triple jump title at Florida's Class AAAA championship, representing William R.
- Boone High School.
- He moved to Texas to study at Blinn College.
- While there he improved Delroy Poyser's Jamaican record with a jump of 17.29 metres (56 ft 8¾ in) – a mark which was also the world-leading outdoor jump at that point in April 1994.His personal best of 8.62 m (28 ft 3 1/4 in) is currently ranked 15th on the all-time list.
- Since he made that jump, April 5, 1997 in Orlando, Florida, only 6 men have jumped farther. He was banned from competition for three months in 1997 after he tested positive for ephedrine, a banned stimulant.He has competed at the World Championships on five occasions and the IAAF World Indoor Championships on six occasions.
- Aside from his global performances, he has won medals at the Summer Universiade, the Goodwill Games, the IAAF Grand Prix Final, as well as a silver medal from the 1998 CAC Games. He remains active, winning the 2018 World Masters Championships.
Read more at Wikipedia
See Also
- Famous People's Birthdays on 09 January, Antigua and Barbuda
- Famous People's Birthdays in January, Antigua and Barbuda
- Famous People's Birthdays on 09 January, Jamaica
- Famous People's Birthdays in January, Jamaica
- Famous athletics competitor's Birthdays on 09 January, Antigua and Barbuda
- Famous athletics competitor's Birthdays in January, Antigua and Barbuda
- Famous athletics competitor's Birthdays on 09 January, Jamaica
- Famous athletics competitor's Birthdays in January, Jamaica