ABOUT ME
My name is James Beckford
I am a former track and field athlete from Jamaica who has competed in the long and triple jump on an international level . I have represented Jamaica at the Olympic level in 1996, 2000 and 2004. I was the silver medalist in the long jump at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta and also have three silver from the World Championships in Athletics (from 1995, 2003 and 2004). I was chosen as the Jamaican Sportsman of the Year for 1995, 1996 and 2003. I am the senior Jamaican triple jump record holder with a jump of 17.92m as well as the record holder for the junior long (8.29m) and triple jump (17.29m).
My Education
I was educated in Jamaica at an early age then I relocated to the United States to continue my education. I attended William R Boone High School in Orlando Florida. Some of my achievements while attending Orlando Boone from 91-93, I won four state high school track and field championships in the long and triple jump as well as two state Decathlon during my three years at Boone High School. I also won multiple district and regional championships including athlete of the week while competing for Boone.
I was voted as the athlete of the year in the state of Florida in 1993 my senior year.
In 2012, I’ve been inducted into the Boone High School Hall of Fame. A year later I was also inducted into the 2013 Florida Golden South Athletic Hall of Fame.
After graduating from Boone High School, I received an athletic scholarship to attend Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas from 1993-1995.
While attending Blinn College, as a freshman I won the NJCAA national championship in my specialty, the long and triple both indoor and outdoor. I followed that up the next year and was voted the athlete of the meet both indoor and outdoor. I was a part of the 1995 outdoor 4 x 100 meter relay team who eventually was the national champion respectively. I still hold the NJCAA Indoor national long and triple jump record as well as the national outdoor triple jump record that still stands today. While competing for Blinn, I won multiple championship meetings like the Texas relay, Louisiana invitation, Houston invitation, Arkansas invitation and Mt Sac invitation.
While competing as a professional athlete in 1995,
some of my international achievements are as follows:
World Master Championship in Tampere, Finland Bronze Medalist Long Jump
World Indoor Masters championship in Torun, Poland Gold Medalist Long Jump
World Masters championship in Malaga, Spain Gold Medalist Long Jump
World Masters championship in Lyon, France Gold Medalist Long Jump
Austrian National Champion Long Jump
Golden Roof Jump in Innsbruck, Austria 2nd Place Long Jump
World Indoor championship in Valencia, Spain 6th Place Long Jump
- World Outdoor Championship in Osaka, Japan 6th Place Long Jump
- World Outdoor Championship in Osaka, Japan 6th Place Long Jump
Grand Prix Final in Stuttgart, Germany 7th Place Long Jump
Grand Prix Final in Stuttgart, Germany 7th Place Long Jump
- Grand Prix Final in Monte Carlo, Monaco Bronze Medalist Long Jump
- World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki, Finland 9th place Long Jump
- World Indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia 6th Qualifier
- Grand Prix Final in Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th Place Long Jump
- Olympic Games in Athens, Greece 4th place Long Jump
- World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary Silver Medalist Long Jump
- World Outdoor championship in Paris, France Silver Medalist Long Jump
- Grand Prix Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 7th Long Jump
- World Indoor championship in Birmingham, England Finalist Long Jump
- Grand Prix Final in Melbourne, Australia place Long Jump
- Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia Silver Medalist Long Jump
- World Championship in Edmonton, Canada 7th place long jump
Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 9th place Long Jump
World indoor championship in Maebashi, Japan 5th place Long Jump
The CAC games in Maracaibo, Venezuela Silver Medalist Long Jump
- Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka, Japan Silver Medalist Long Jump
- Goodwill Games in New York, USA Bronze Medalist Long Jump
- World University Games in Catania, Italy Silver Medalist Long Jump
1997 World indoor championship in Paris, France 5th place Long Jump
Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA Silver Medalist Long Jump
3 times Jamaican sportsman of the year 1995, 1996 and 2003
- Grand Prix Final in Monte Carlo, Monaco Bronze Medalist Long Jump
- World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden Silver Medalist Long Jump
- 4 th place finish 4x100m Relay
