World Championships silver medalist Ackelia Smith successfully defended her national long jump title on Thursday night at the National Stadium in Kingston, leaping 6.81m (+4.3 m/s) to claim top honours. Yet, the Olympic finalist and 2024 NCAA champion says she’s still some way off her best form.
“I started my season a little bit late, so this is my third triple-long jump meet and I’m just finally getting into stride,” said Smith, who competed in both the long and triple jump at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing eighth in the long jump (6.66m) and seventh in the triple jump (14.42m).
“It was nice, even though it was not a legal jump,” she said of her wind-aided effort. “It’s always good to get a good jump to get your confidence up there, but we still have a lot to work on and I have time to work on it, so I’m not worried.”
Smith’s win in Kingston added to an already impressive résumé. She is now a three-time Jamaican national champion in the long jump (2022, 2024, 2025) and a three-time NCAA champion, having claimed both the long jump (6.79m) and triple jump (14.52m) titles in 2024 at Hayward Field in Eugene.
She confirmed plans to compete in both events at the national trials with the goal of representing Jamaica in both disciplines in Tokyo at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
“What I always say is I’m young, I’m healthy, and I have the opportunity to do both of them,” said the 23-year-old. “I’m going to do both of them at trials and then if I make it—well, who knows? I did that at the Olympics, so I guess World Championship is nothing too.”
Following the completion of her competition, Smith will return to her training base in Austin before heading to Eugene for an upcoming competition, though she admits her full competition calendar is still unfolding. What isn’t in question, however, is the intensity of her preparation.
“If I could cheat it and not train, that would be good,” she joked. “But my coach would skin me alive.”
Despite the victory, Smith wasn’t overly pleased with the consistency of her series.
“It’s like 6.42 to 6.72 to 6.80. I would want it to be a little more consistent around 6.80,” she said. “But again, it’s still early season. We’ll see what happens later on.”
