Triple jump champion leaps to academic success - Secures seven distinctions in eight CSEC subjects

For World U-20 triple jump champion Jaydon Hibbert, the road to his success in the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations was paved with tears.

The 17-year-old recently achieved grade one passes with distinctions in seven of the eight subjects he sat. Summing up his feeling on the feat he said, "I'm feeling amazed and not too surprised because I worked tirelessly after training to get my SBAs (school based assessments) done and my studying." Hibbert's passes include mathematics, English Language, social studies, French, physics, information technology and principles of business.

The triple jump champion said that on some occasions he had to let athletics take a back seat so he could focus on his academic deadlines.

"I had to skip training some days to get my labs in and attend lab classes. It was not an easy road, with crying almost every night, those tears mark all the attention to my academics and athletics. Thank God!" he said.

Though the Kingston College alumni was registered to sit exams for principles of accounts, he decided to sit that one out.

"I wasn't prepared efficiently for that subject due to travel and consecutive competitions that hindered my face-to-ace learning with that class," he told THE STAR. "So I skipped it and prepared for the subjects that I needed and that were directly after that exam."

While awaiting the results, Hibbert broke the championship record in the triple jump at the World U-20. He leapt 17.27 metres in the first round of the final. The games were held in Cali, Colombia.

Hibbert said that time management, help from his smart friends and prayer have been the winning combination helping him to balance both his academic and athletic pursuits.

"Within my lunchtime and free classes, I used the time to complete my SBAs, and if there were any queries, I asked the teacher to kindly explain. I have very smart friends at school who help me and I stayed up and studied, backed up with prayer," he said.

Now as Hibbert prepares to join the track and field programme at the University of Arkansas in the US in the upcoming academic year, he said receiving a degree is a necessary backup plan.

"I am studying business marketing and [I have a] minor in sports management. I want to become a pro athlete but I must get that degree first to secure a backup in case there are any unplanned circumstances," he said.