 All right, jumping back into this Wednesday edition of the Sportsman's Zone, 18-year-old Jamaican tropejump phenom Jaylen Hibbert is still basking in the success of winning the Boerman and award presented to the top male and female athletes in U.S. collegiate track and field, Hibbert, who set world on the 20 NCAA national tropejump records during an unbeaten 2023 collegiate campaign was presented with the award during a ceremony in Denver, Colorado last Thursday. He's the first Jamaican athlete to win the Boerman and only the third from the Caribbean. The only blemish on a near-perfect season was a disappointing World Athletics Championships, where Ingrid derailed his quest for goals. Still, his 17.87-meter effort in male was the best jump in the world for 2023, while his 17.70 jump in the World Champs Prelims was the best mark produced in Budapest. The gold medal winning mark was 17.64 by Hughes Fabrice Zango. Well, not for the first time, but the first time since he won the Boerman. We welcome Jaylen Hibbert to the Sportsman's Zone. He's so accustomed to setting records and who knows, he may set a record for the most appearances on this show. I think this is going to be his third live on the Sportsman's Zone. Jaylen Hibbert, first of all, congratulations on winning the Boerman award, and it's been a few days now. Who have you been taking it all in? Well, I just set up my trophy stand over the next side of the room. So, you know, it's so gold over there. It's feeling good. First of all, take us back to that night when you won the Boerman. I want to get an idea of how confident you were that you would have won it. Given the season you had, yes, you're up against quality competition, two good decathletes. But given the campaign you had at the collegiate level, you must have been extremely confident that, yeah, I'm going to win this. Right. I was confident, but there was some doubt, given that, you know, I was a young guest and, you know, you try to feel you just may never know. But it was that speech. It was so well done, but it was so last minute because I wrote it at 12 a.m. of that day. And I just, you know, turned off the lights, just blocked out everything, turned off my phone. I just wrote the speech. I said, hey, there are going to be a lot of people there. So, at least be prepared in case. And even when the dude called my name and said that I won, I was feeling so much emotion. But then I had to, you know, clap it a little bit because I'm saying, oh no, I have to do this speech. I have to do this speech in front of all of these people. But it was, it was really fun because everybody was so receptive of it and they were clapping along the way and everything was just super fun. The vibe was right. Yeah. Yeah, it definitely was. And I want to get to the speech. I'm really happy that you mentioned that because I know that, you know, you, you had a lot to say and a lot of good things to say about a number of individuals who have been influential in your development from Ricky Martin, who first discovered you to Vaz Prep to Kingston College and those at Kingston College. Why was it so important for you to point out those individuals as being instrumental in your growth and development as an athlete and not just as an athlete, but as an individual? Well, I would say sometimes at the trap meets, I can't get to give everybody a shout out. So I saw that this platform was a good one, especially if I won to, you know, give everybody a shout out and it's pertinent to let the people know where I'm coming from. You know, it's all about inspiration. It's all about the drive and the motive, you know. So Uncle Ricky, once when I'm super thankful for him, because as I said, he's a blueprint and stuff like that he saw the talent first and I'm super grateful for him always and forever be. But I, people have been texting me and say, hey, oh, I mean, I get my big old fun. Oh, I mean, I get this. I made sure that everybody's name was written on that iPad and I called it and everybody felt good and it was definitely a really good speech. Yeah, it was a very good speech. And it's the risk you run when you start coding names that you may just leave one individual is going to go away. Hey, I thought I was important to you. So there you go. There was another thing that happened at the award ceremony as well where there was a special speech coming from the world record holder, Jonathan Edwards. And what I want to get your thoughts on what that meant to you. But I also want to get an understanding of the type of pressure that it puts on you because everybody has started to say, including the current world record holder, this is the kid who is going to dominate the event. This is the kid who can break the current world record. And I can only imagine how that impacts you as an 18-year-old. Well, ah, let me tell you, it's an ultimate goal. Okay. Yeah. Any athlete, any athlete who wants a world record and actually wants the Olympic record, the Olympic goal, it's a given. For me personally, I just focus on my journey. It comes to Jonathan for believing in me, thanks for the drive, for the motivation. But it is definitely inside. But as I said, I will take my time. I will enjoy the process and not only make it all. I need to break the world record. I need to do this. I need to do this. But this is something I do for fun. This is something that I find peace in, but I really want to enjoy the moment as it goes. If the world record comes, it comes. God's will. I can't control my career. If I did, I would have broke the world record already, trust me. But it's all a process. And one thing coach always reiterate is enjoy the process and enjoy the moments while it is on. So thank you to Jonathan, but I'm just enjoying the process right now. And when the world record comes, it comes. Yeah. Yeah. And that is such a mature way to look at it. And I wish more athletes would look at things that way, especially the part about enjoying the process because individuals can get so caught up in what they expect the results to be, that they don't even enjoy what's happening now. And then even when they win, when it's all done, it's not that they are happy for the win. It's almost more like relief, which is not what you want. You want to feel joy in those glorious moments. You want to feel joy in trying to get to those glorious moments. So I think that is such an important lesson for everyone watching this interview today. Let's talk a little bit about Budapest, shall we? Because that must have been disappointing for you in no doubt. I want to get an understanding of how you handled the disappointment of Budapest. You were brilliant in qualifying and I can only imagine that you must have been thinking, yeah, once I can re-deliver, I'm going to win this gold medal and then injury. It's a high topic. I tend to not remind myself about it. Because for an athlete like me doing this, such a young age, especially starting the sport like two or three years ago, it was premature in triple jump, premature in track and field, and the rigors are track and field. Everything right now for me is work in progress and learning progress. I would say it definitely took a toll on my mental, physically too. It was hard. I kind of stopped eating for like two days. I was still in shock even on the field when I realized that, oh no, I'm injured for real. Coaches like, hey, Hibbe, you're still here. Hold your head up. You have nothing to be too disappointed about or beat myself for too much because I had a great season of water when it was just constantly reminding me that, hey, I did really good. I crossed barriers that most people didn't. And I think that's one of the things that I really reminded myself constantly. And of course, I cried. I cried a bit in my room. I didn't come out. I had to order food because I just didn't want to be in the public. But I made sure that I still supported my teammates, still reposted what they did on Instagram, still showed up for there. I worked ceremony and people were weighing my teammate. But it was really hard. Even today, up to today, I'm still in shock at what happened. But I have to shake it off because a lot of more triple jumpers are coming who weren't there last year and I have to get it together so that I can deliver the same or even better this coming season. Yeah. Yeah, there's something I want to get because for those of us who were not inside the stadium and watching on television, many of us would not have known what was happening. We saw the initial jump and we saw that everything wasn't okay. But at least from my standpoint, I wondered, okay, maybe it's just a slight cramp and he'll be okay and he'll get to jump again. Was there any point after that where you thought you could still compete? Or was it evident from the outset that this was going to be it? Yeah. When I touched the board and I realized that my muscles kind of grabbed or contracted in a way. And then the constant pain that I felt after the synopsis of everything, I was like, yeah, it's over. And then it was somebody in the bleachers through a random blue lacrosse ball to me. And it was like, roll out, roll out. I don't know the person. And I just took the ball, coaches like roll out, tried to, you know, release the area. I was there. He said, got, get up, see if we can run. This was in the second round. And I had like one more round to at least try and qualify for the top eight or something. I was there rolling out, rolling out. I tried to call the medic on there. I was just, I was really trying to come back, but it wasn't working. And I said, coach, I can't run. He was like, hey, let's see if we can move it down to at least 12 steps and not the 14 or 10 steps to at least get, you know, in a mark or something. I was like, coach, it's not worth it. And so we have a long new year next year. So what it is, and I just accepted the fact that, hey, I'm injured. And I just got to get, have to get better for the next season. Yeah, you know, as someone who plays a little bit of sport, I understand that in those situations, those decisions are extremely difficult to make. For others, it can also be easier to make in that moment. What was it for you in that moment? How difficult was it if any at all to make the decision? Well, just like when I walked out of the pit and I realized that my muscles are hurting, my hamstring was hurting. I was like, what's going on? I felt so good coming into competition. I warmed up so good. I got my stretch, I got my glute release. I got my hips aligned. I did all, you know, the pre-hab needed for competition and everything. And when I walked out of the pit, I realized my leg was hurting. I was like, no, no, no, no. And then coach, coach saw me freaking and he was like, Hibi, calm down, calm down. We're going to get through this. And I was shouting from the field to the bleachers area so that he can hear me. He was barely hearing me. I was like, I was shaking. I was in so much anxiety. I trained so hard for this one moment. And this happened. I was trying to fix the situation, but it was not being fixed. But I just said, hey, I sat down, I said, coach, just give me one minute to think because my brain was just rocking my brain money. I said, coach, give me one minute. I'm going to sit down, I'm going to just use untold and I'm going to have a bag, wrap up my head, I'm going to pray, I'm going to say, God made this decision and thanks to the winds, thanks to the losses, thanks to everything. And I just made this decision and coach said, okay, Hibi, let's make sure you watch the guys, watch, cheer them on or whatever, and then walk out with a smile. I can do my little media stuff after, but make sure that I go and get my ultrasound and do the necessary rehab, but it was pretty tough being to smile on the head. Yeah, I can only imagine. How are you now? I'm okay. I'm recovering mentally, physically, I'm okay. I'm just preparing for the season. You know. Yeah, and training has started fully and there are no ill effects of the injury from Budapest. No. Yeah, that's wonderful news. I think the entire world will be happy to hear that, maybe with the exception of the Cubans and for Greece. But I want to get a quick understanding because of course, no, you're in a unique situation with Neil coming on, on stream and the opportunity for collegiate athletes to bridge that gap between being a collegiate competitor and being a professional athlete. Do you yet have an understanding of what your season is going to look like next year, collegiate competitions versus professional competitions type thing? Okay, so most of the stuff is pending because it's college and everything. Everything is pending right now. I can't say much, but what I can say is everything is in the process. And everything is going to be all right. I just can't say much right now. All right, completely understand, completely understand. Jaydan Hibbert, as usual, it has been an absolute pleasure speaking with you. Congratulations on an amazing 2023 campaign. Tough pill to swallow in Budapest, but my goodness me, when you think about everything that you've achieved and at just 18 years old, yeah, not even the sky will be the limit for you, young man. And I hope you continue to enjoy the process because, like you said, I think that is so important. Thank you. All right, Jaydan Hibbert, Lance Whitaker, what a young man, what a mature individual, not just on the track, in the field, but also in his delivery. Such an engaging personality as well and almost childlike in his mannerisms. I know, but a lot of 18-year-olds behave like 30. He captures your imagination, not only with his quality as a triple jumper, but his personality. And I'm looking forward to really, really great things from him. One of the things that impressed me so much, not often we see athletes on scholarships overseas in U.S. colleges come back to represent Jamaica at the Currifta Games. That's not normal. And he did it in the Bahamas. And I just thought that said a lot about his personality. And he pushed to do it as well. This is a special guy, really special. He's developing into quite a fashion icon as well, even with the hat that he wore today and his outfit was quite the rage at the Boerman Awards as well. So, yeah, Jayden Hebert, what a youngster. Let's take a break. We're back with more after this.