Doris’ 7th- best Guyanese performance since 1980

Troy Doris, the overseas based Guyanese triple jumper, finished seventh overall in the finals of the event on Tuesday, at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Doris hopped, skipped and jumped to a distance of 16.90m, which bettered his qualifying time of 16.81m.
American, Christian Taylor, retained his Olympic triple jump title with a season’s best leap of 17.86m. Taylor jumped 18.21m in winning the world title last year, but did not threaten Jonathan Edwards’ 1995 world record of 18.29m on this occasion.

Troy Doris as he makes one of his jumps(photo courtesy of newsroom.gy)
Troy Doris as he makes one of his jumps(photo courtesy of newsroom.gy)

Fellow American, Will Claye, took silver with a personal best jump of 17.76m, while China’s Bin Dong, secured bronze with 17.58m.
Doris’ exit means that all Guyanese contenders are now out of the 2016 Rio Olympics, extending the already 36-year wait for a medal at the Olympic Games.
Doris, now 27, was born to Guyanese immigrant parents in Chicago, where he’s lived for most of his life and is the first male athlete from Guyana to qualify for an Olympic final in athletics.
Doris was congratulated by the entire nation, including Director of Sport, Christopher Jones, who highlighted that the young man has made his country proud.
Guyana last won a medal back in 1980, when the event was staged in Moscow. Bantamweight boxer, Michael Paris, won Guyana a bronze medal.