By Treiston Joseph
Guyana’s Triple Jump record holder, Troy Doris, is pleased with his performance at the 31st Olympiad being held in Rio, Brazil, where he made the final of the event. Doris placed seventh with a jump of 16.90 metres to become only the second Guyanese to make an Olympic final.
Jennifer Innis was the only other Guyanese to make an Olympic final in the Women’s Long Jump of the 1980 Moscow Games. In Rio, United States of America’s Christian Taylor won the event with a leap of 17.86 metres, while his compatriot Will Claye finished second with a mark of 17.76 metres.
Bin Dong of China got the bronze with a leap of 17.58 metres.
Speaking to News Room after the event, Doris, the 5’8” jumper, said, “I feel good; it’s a great feeling to be in the final. The hardest part was making the final.”
Reminiscing on his event, Doris, who has personal best of 17.18 metres, which is also the National Triple Jump record, gave his analysis on his performance: “My technique wasn’t at its best because I was over emphasising on how well I wanted to execute in the final.”
Nevertheless, Doris made mention that he was definitely not a victim of the moment. “I didn’t have many thoughts. [I] just wanted to do my best and not focus on anyone else; again just focusing on execution and doing what I know.”
Meanwhile, Doris also thanked all Guyanese for their support, stating that his performance is just the start of things to come.
“I’d like to tell them keep supporting me, it’s just the start of what’s to come for the future and I’m happy to be a part of history,” the top triple jumper noted. The performance by Doris ended Guyana’s campaign at the 2016 Rio Olympics, with swimmers Hannibal Gaskin and Jamila Sanmoogan and athletes Winston George, Brenessa Thompson and Aliyah Abrams all failing to get past the first round.
