Jehlani Gordon, who is 22 years old and a Jamaican Olympic sprinter, became a three-time NCAA Second-Team All-American before transferring to Arizona State University in September 2026 ahead of his final year of collegiate athletics. Prior to that, Gordon ran for Auburn University in the Southeastern Conference for the 2025-2026 season before spending his first two collegiate years at the University of Georgia, where he qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2024 and 2025.
Born and raised in Jamaica, where he excelled at Wolmer’s Boys’ School, Gordon won gold in the 4x100m relay for Jamaica at the NACAC U23 Championships in 2023, before making his senior breakthrough in 2024. He had a great year in which he improved his indoor 60m personal best to 6.60 seconds and his 100m personal best to 10.05 seconds and placed sixth in the Jamaican Olympic Trials 100m final. He also took part in the men’s 4x100m relay with the Jamaican team at the Paris Olympics.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Jehlani Gordon shared about the pressure of sprinting in Jamaica’s domestic circuit, the main purpose of following the legacy of Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, the rise of Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville, competing with sub-9.90 collegiate sprinters like Kanyinsola Ajayi, and the technical demands of the 100 meters.
Jehlani Gordon on Jamaican sprinting pressure, Usain Bolt’s legacy, and chasing Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville
1. Jamaica’s sprinting tradition creates a fiercely competitive domestic environment. How does growing up in that system prepare you for international rivalries?
Jehlani Gordon: Jamaican sprinting as a whole is highly competitive from a very young age. From around 10 or 11 years old, you already know who you have to go up against and you know the big names in the sport, which is a good thing.
The domestic environment back home forces you to develop a true identity in the sprints, and that separates Jamaican sprinters from everyone else. Because Jamaica is known as the sprint capital of the world, going overseas—whether it’s competing in college or at an international meet—is nothing compared to the pressure we face back home.
2. Legends like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Yohan Blake transformed the global profile of Jamaican sprinting. How much does their legacy influence your own ambitions?
Jehlani Gordon: Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell definitely set the standard for Jamaican sprinting and world sprinting—there is no question about that. They did what they were supposed to do and put us in a great spot; they put Jamaican sprinting in the stars.
What my generation has to do is build off that foundation and take the 100-meter sprint to an even higher level. You can already see it happening right now with guys like Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville. Jamaican sprinting has been in a really strong spot over these recent years.
3. With Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville carrying Jamaica’s sprinting reputation forward, how difficult is it for an emerging sprinter like you to break through?
Jehlani Gordon: It is difficult in a sense because the depth of competition is always there, but all I can do is focus on myself and my own training. Eventually, I am going to keep getting better at my event and hopefully start dominating as much as they have over the past four or five years. I can’t focus on what they or other athletes around me are doing. I just have to show up to training every single day with the intention of improving, and the results will come over time.
4. How do you compare Jamaica’s professional sprinting culture with the level of competition in the US collegiate system?
Jehlani Gordon: Jamaica has faster athletes overall on the professional circuit with guys like Kishane Thompson, Ackeem Blake, and others. But college track is also fiercely competitive. My old teammate at Auburn, Kanyinsola Ajayi, was running 9.8 seconds consecutively. When you’re running 9.8 consecutively, you’re in the top five in the world and can compete directly against the top Jamaicans. The NCAA is extremely competitive, and I love the competition in college just as much as I love it back home in Jamaica.
5. What is the biggest obstacle facing talented Jamaican sprinters who are trying to reach the elite level?
Jehlani Gordon: Rather than a lack of consistency, it really comes down to staying injury-free and having financial stability. Whether you stay in Jamaica to train or go to school in America, if you’re training in Jamaica without a pro contract, it is incredibly hard. And if you’re at a college in America without a full scholarship and barely getting by, it is still really tough. It’s never simple—it comes down to navigating injuries, financial realities, and the mental side of the sport.
Jehlani Gordon on his 2024 Paris Olympics experience and adapting to the NCAA track system
6. What is the biggest adjustment when moving from collegiate meets to the stage of major international championships like the Olympics?
Jehlani Gordon: I don’t put extra pressure on myself, so it mainly comes down to how you show up for the biggest races. In 2024, when I was a freshman at Georgia, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Oregon felt like a huge deal and a golden opportunity. Then, fast forward just a couple of months later, I was at the Paris Olympics on a much bigger stage. You have to adjust on the fly and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
7. Having developed inside the US collegiate system while representing Jamaica internationally, what has been the most valuable lesson from balancing both worlds?
Jehlani Gordon: It varies for different athletes, but for me, the biggest lesson has been learning how to adapt and stay consistent. On the professional circuit, you have time to train and build gradually toward a personal best or a major championship late in the summer.
In the collegiate system, you have to be ready to run fast times right out of the gate from the very first meet. You only get three or four good chances during the regular season to post a qualifying time for NCAA Regionals and Nationals. That urgency was instilled in me through the college programs I’ve been in.
8. How do you define a successful season beyond personal best times?
Jehlani Gordon: When I was 16 or 17, I used to define a good season strictly by whether I finished the year with a personal best. As I’ve gotten older and experienced seasons where I didn’t hit a PB or win the honor I wanted, I’ve realized that sometimes you put in all the work and don’t immediately get the result on the clock.
That happens in every sport—you train every day without seeing the immediate reward, and then when you least expect it, the breakthrough happens. You just have to stay consistent and keep hammering away.
Breaking down the 100m vs. 200m: Power sprinting, drive-phase cues, and video analysis
9. Between the 100m and the 200m, which event brings out the best in you?
Jehlani Gordon: My favorite event is definitely the 100 meters. My high school coach back in Jamaica used to disagree and tell me that the 200 meters was my best event. But as I’ve grown into my body, I view myself as a power sprinter built for the 100 meters. That is where my main strength lies.
10. The 100m and 200m require different physical tools. Which part of those two events do you find most challenging?
Jehlani Gordon: Because I’m a power sprinter, I haven’t done heavy 200-meter speed endurance work over the past three or four years. You can be a pure power sprinter and succeed in the 100 meters. To be at your best in the 200 meters, you can’t just rely on power—you have to be a hybrid athlete who can also run a strong 350 meters or even a solid 400 meters.
11. How does your tactical race plan differ between the 100m and the 200m?
Jehlani Gordon: I approach the 100 meters as an all-out sprint from the gun. You get a clean start, transition smoothly, hit top-end speed between 30 and 60 meters, and keep hammering through the 90-meter mark. Over the final 10 meters, nobody is accelerating anymore, so it’s about holding your form and dipping at the line. That race model is how I’ve run my personal bests.
In the 200 meters, I follow my coach’s blueprint: attack the first 30 meters hard out of the blocks, float and maintain form coming off the curve, and then rely on my conditioning over the final 30 to 40 meters when lactic acid sets in and your legs feel electric.
12. Because the 100m ends in under 10 seconds, how critical is mental sharpness during the race?
Jehlani Gordon: Mental focus in the race is right up there with physical training. There have been times where I came out of my drive phase and mentally “fell asleep”—just going through the motions instead of firing properly. In the 100 meters, there is no room for passive running; you have to be aggressive from start to finish. Relying on technical cues at the line—like pushing out of the blocks, hitting the 30-meter transition, and staying aggressive—keeps you locked in.
13. How do you use race video analysis to spot mechanical flaws and track your progress?
Jehlani Gordon: I watch a lot of film, both from practice block starts and past races. Watching video allows me to spot exact technical mistakes and figure out what to fix. Even though the 100 meters lasts around nine or ten seconds, there are so many phases to perfect—the block start, acceleration, transition, top-end drive, maintaining over the last 10 meters, and dipping at the line. Breaking down film of my starts and finishes is a massive help.
Coach-athlete trust, sprint workouts, Jamaican yams, and advice for young sprinters
14. When preparing for a season, how do you decide whether to prioritize acceleration, top-end speed, or speed endurance?
Jehlani Gordon: It depends on where we are in the training cycle and whether I’m completely healthy, but ultimately it boils down to trusting my coach’s program. Whether the focus for the day is top-end velocity or speed endurance, I trust the process and execute whatever my coach puts in front of me.
15. How important is the bond between a sprinter and their coach when modifying mechanics or pushing through heavy training volume?
Jehlani Gordon: It is vital. When you step onto the track and you’re hurting in the middle of a tough session—like six 150-meter repeats at 85 percent—that bond with your coach is what motivates you to push through and finish. A coach is developing both your sprint mechanics and your physical conditioning, so you have to have complete trust in them for the training to work.
16. How do your track workouts differ when training for the 100m compared to the 200m?
Jehlani Gordon: For the 100 meters, we do a lot of short-speed work: 50-meter reps, fly 30s, or all-out 120-meter runs off the curve. For the 200 meters, the workouts shift toward over-distance speed endurance—hitting 180s, 220s, and 250s, or 150s on transition days. It always depends on what phase of the season your coach is building toward.
17. Do you follow strict dietary restrictions during the season, and what foods fuel you best?
Jehlani Gordon: In track, diet isn’t always ultra-rigid for everyone because a lot depends on your metabolism, though you obviously have to know when to stay away from burgers and french fries. For me personally, eating the traditional Jamaican foods I grew up on—like yams and sweet potatoes—helps me feel and perform at my best.
18. What message would you share with young, aspiring sprinters working toward the international stage?
Jehlani Gordon: If I had to give young sprinters one word, it would be: believe. Believe in yourself and believe in your talent. That is the foundation for any athlete in any sport. Whether your breakthrough comes in a month, two years, or four years down the line, you cannot lose faith. If you truly believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything.
Edited by Shyam Kamal
