LONDON – Arkansas men's track and field ProHogs Kemoy Campbell and Omar McLeod closed out the 2017 IAAF World Championships for the Razorbacks on Saturday evening in London, both representing Team Jamaica in outstanding fashion on the mammoth stage.
Caribbean Distance Pioneer
Campbell, the first Jamaican in history to qualify for the World Championships 5,000 meters final, finished 10th. He completed the race in 13 minutes, 39.74 seconds.
“I think it went pretty well,” Campbell said. “I’m the first Jamaican to ever make it to this level so I’m very, very happy with my performance.”
https://twitter.com/RazorbackTF/status/896474891163193350
Be the Next
As Jamaica's only gold medalist of the meet (110-meter hurdles), several members of the media have already began to tout the young and charismatic McLeod as the future of track and field. McLeod attempted to help his country secure another championships medal as the lead leg of the 4-x-100-meter relay but Team Jamaica came up short due to muscle cramping of famed sprinter Usain Bolt.
“I gave it my all,” McLeod said. “I really wanted Usain to leave golden. I did my best. I did my very, very best. It was just bad timing.”
https://twitter.com/JamaicaOlympics/status/896486110225989634
Arkansas exits the world championships with one gold medal, one silver medal and five top-10 finishes. Several ProHogs including Campbell, Stanley Kebenei, Jarrion Lawson and McLeod will continue their seasons through the end of August at select Diamond League meetings and road races.
Arkansas World Championships Medalists (Chronological)
• 1983: Mike Conley (Long Jump - Bronze)
• 1987: Mike Conley (Triple Jump - Silver), Roddie Haley (4-x-400m Relay - Gold)
• 1991: Mike Conley (Triple Jump - Bronze)
• 1993: Mike Conley (Triple Jump - Gold)
• 1997: Erick Walder (Long Jump - Silver)
• 2005: Wallace Spearmon Jr. (200m - Silver)
• 2007: Tyson Gay (100m - Gold, 200m - Gold, 4-x-100m Relay - Gold), Wallace Spearmon Jr. (200m - Bronze, 4-x-100m Relay - Gold)
• 2009: Tyson Gay (100m - Silver), Wallace Spearmon Jr. (200m - Bronze)
• 2017: Jarrion Lawson (Long Jump - Silver), Omar McLeod (110mH - Gold)