Tajay Gayle fails to break 8m, finishes third in Switzerland

Tajay Gayle, the 2019 World Championships long jump champion, had to settle for a third-place finish at the Gala Dei Castelli meeting in Switzerland on Tuesday.

Gayle, who set a national record of 8.69m while winning gold in Doha last year, was unable to break 8m, leaping out to 7.99m, a mark exceeded by South Africa’s Rushwal Samaai, who managed an 8.04m jump for second place.

Finland’s Kristian Pulli won the event with his mark of 8.08m.

The 7.99m was Gayle’s worst performance of the disrupted season.

He produced a wind-aided mark of 8.52 at Jamaica College on July 11. A week later, he had a winning mark of 8.13m. Then, on August 29, he was again over 8m, recording a mark of 8.04m at the National Stadium in Kingston.

Also at the meet, 2016 Olympic champion and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk returned to competition winning the 400m in 45.58.

Jochem Dobber of the Netherlands was second in 45.78 while Karol Zalewski of Poland was third in 46.03.