As the 2024 outdoor track and field season kicks into high gear, Jamaican triple jump standout Jordan Jordan Scott entered Sunday’s Coqui International Cup — a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver-level competition hosted in Puerto Rico — with one clear goal: to gauge his competition readiness ahead of a stacked schedule of major championship events this summer. What unfolded on the day exceeded even his quiet expectations, as the two-time World Athletics Indoor Championships finalist delivered a personal best and world-leading leap of 17.66m with zero wind assistance, a mark that improves upon his 2023 Diamond League personal best of 17.52m.
The competition was held on an elevated runway in a public park adjacent to the main stadium, an unconventional venue that did nothing to slow Scott down. After a few opening attempts to acclimate to the space, he hit his game-changing jump, confirming his strong form ahead of upcoming key meets.
Speaking with the Jamaica Observer on Monday, Scott opened up about his preparation heading into the competition. “We never really went into the meet with any real expectations. We had an idea of where we were because we competed at Penn Relays a couple weeks ago — from a short approach, in the cold — and we jumped 17.23 from behind the board so we knew we’re in a good spot,” explained the former University of Virginia NCAA indoor champion. “This was the first meet this year that I jumped from a full approach so we knew there was a lot that we needed to iron out. We weren’t sure if it was going to go as smoothly as we wanted to — in all honesty, it wasn’t as smooth as we wanted it to be. But, I mean, we were able to get a good job out there, and opted to shut it down to kind of just save ourselves for upcoming meets.” The 29-year-old (who will celebrate his birthday next month) has steadily built his athletic career from his high school days competing for Jamaica’s Campion College, before moving to the United States to compete collegiately first at the University of Southern California for one year, then for the University of Virginia.
After flying under the radar for several seasons, Scott broke into global headlines in 2023: he claimed fourth place at the World Indoor Championships in China, went on to win three Diamond League events, and closed out the season with a fifth-place finish at the outdoor World Athletics Championships in Japan. He carried that momentum into 2024, capturing a historic silver medal at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Poland — the first ever World Indoor Championships medal won by a Jamaican man in the triple jump event.
Scott attributes his recent string of breakthrough performances to a shift in both mindset and training camp, a change that has re-energized his love for the sport. Now based in Maryland, Scott trains alongside Dominica’s 2024 Paris Olympic Games women’s triple jump gold medalist Thea LaFond, under the guidance of LaFond’s husband and coach Aaron Gadson.
“It’s amazing to be training with the best of the best. I mean, I feel like I have one of, if not the best, training partner in Thea LaFond,” Scott said. “She’s been at the bottom of the bottle, and she’s been at the top of the top, so she knows what it takes to get there. And, I mean, I am just following her footsteps to ensure that I’m doing everything, everything to the best of my ability, and making the right decisions to be successful.” Training alongside LaFond, whose underdog Olympic gold medal run shocked the global track world, has given Scott a new perspective on what he can achieve this season.
Even with the world-leading mark and historic medal already under his belt in 2024, Scott says he is still far from reaching his full potential, and remains focused on trusting the incremental process of improvement. “I think we’re still in the process of figuring things out so, I mean, I say it can only get better but I mean I actually believe it can only be better,” he noted.
Scott’s top priority for the 2024 summer season is the upcoming Commonwealth Games, set to take place in Glasgow, Scotland this August. “The plan, obviously, is to medal at the Commonwealth Games,” he said. Before he competes for Commonwealth Games glory, he has two key stop on his international schedule: he is slated to compete at the JBL Jump Fest, a unique street-style jumping event held in temporary triple jump pits on the streets of Košice, Slovakia on May 26, followed by the Rome Diamond League meet on June 6.