McLeod out of World Indoors

Jamaica's 30-member team to the IAAF World Indoor Championships has been jolted by the withdrawal of defending 60 metres hurdles champion Omar McLeod.

News about McLeod's withdrawal came from the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) yesterday. They said the 23 year-old hurdler's withdrawal was communicated to the JAAA after the team was announced.

McLeod's rise to the top of global sprint hurdling began with a brilliant 7.41 seconds win at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon in the United States. The national 110m metres record holder followed that up victory with success at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and at last year's World Championships in London.

McLeod was one of three medal winners at the 2016 World Indoors. The others were Elaine Thompson and Asafa Powell. Thompson is a member of the team which will travel to Birmingham next week and will be one of the favourites for the 60 metres.

In his last meet, the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson University, McLeod flashed to a world leading time of 7.46 seconds in the heats. He hit the penultimate hurdle in the final and lost to the final to young American Grant Holloway who improved the world leader to 7.42 seconds. Later in the same meet, the Jamaican won the 200 metres.