KINGSTON, Jamaica — Reigning Olympic Games 110m hurdles champion Omar McLeod says he was not given a fair opportunity to make the country’s Olympic team after finishing last at the national trials in Kingston, last month.
He was speaking at today’s Gateshead press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Muller British Grand Prix in the United Kingdom.
“I’m very heartbroken honestly. I just don’t think I was given or granted the fair opportunity to make the team with this ridiculous [national trials] schedule,” McLeod told journalists after failing to make the team to Tokyo for the games which begin on July 23.
“In my years of track and field, I’ve never seen a schedule like that where they have semi-finals in the evening and without recovery and the country was on complete lockdown so we were unable to go back to the hotel and get food. So my team and I did the best we could. We went to the lounge at the hotel and drank some soup and a salad before — that’s all they had — and tried to go back to the track for five in the morning for a finals at eight. I mean that’s stupid,” he added.
McLeod, who entered the event with a world-leading time of 13.01 seconds, hit a hurdle early in the race and never fully recovered. He finished in a time of 16.22 seconds.
Ronald Levy, Commonwealth Games champion, won the event in 13.10 seconds ahead of Damion Thomas who finished in a time of 13.11 seconds. Hansle Parchment ran 13.16 seconds for third.
“I mean for an event that has your reigning Olympic champion you don’t treat the event like that. Give me a fair opportunity like everybody else to come and make the team. I didn’t have the audacity to not show up at the trials thinking I was obligated to make the team. You know I went there ready to compete and earn my spot the rightful way.
“In the morning I had the most human moment where I had a severe cramp before the race and in that moment I just didn’t know what to do and I thought my country would have had my back. We did a medical exemption hoping that [it would work]. It’s been done before. Usain Bolt and so many other athletes did it before, you know, where they couldn’t run in the final or something happened and they filled out a medical exemption.
“I mean that was Usain Bolt; you couldn’t deny him from going to the championship and I thought I was in the same position knowing that you know I won my country all [its] major gold medals in historic moments. I was the first Jamaican to win a gold medal in every championship. So, you know, I thought I was going to be okay but my name was not on the list. So I’m pretty heartbroken,” McLeod said.
