Turns focus to athletics

Shayne Fairman, Star Writer

Wolmer's star athlete Jaheel Hyde has hung up his football boots in favour of his track and field spikes, his father, Lenworth 'Teacher' Hyde, has confirmed.

Hyde, the 110m hurdles world youth record holder, was outstanding for Wolmer's in the 2014 Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA) schoolboy football season but says it was his last.

"I support my son's decision fully, said 'Teacher' Hyde. "Jaheel will be focusing fully on his track and field career now."

The younger Hyde set a new world record of 12.76 seconds in winning the 110m hurdles title at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, in August, less than a month after winning the 400m hurdles at the World Junior Games in Eugene, Oregon.

The 17-year-old also claimed the 110m hurdles World Youth title in Donetsk, Ukraine, last year.

Hyde secured the Howard Aris Award for Excellence in non-traditional events last Saturday night. He is also the recipient of the North America Central America Caribbean (NACAC) award for the Best Junior Athlete of the Year.

Hyde will complete sixth form at Wolmer's next year.

Senior Hyde, the newly appointed coach of the national under 20 football team, noted that his son will continue his development locally.

He also shared that the University of the West Indies (UWI) is the World Youth champion's tertiary institution of choice.

"Jaheel wants to be an independent athlete and not get tied up with any track clubs," he toldStar Sports. "He wants to continue working with his same coaches from Wolmer's," he added.

Young Hyde, who played as an ace forward for Wolmer's, was unable to cap off his Manning Cup career with a trophy in the recently concluded season.

His only hold on silverware came last season with the ISSA/Lime Walker Cup win.

In 2013, he ended as top scorer, having led Wolmer's to the ISSA/Lime Manning Cup final, where they were beaten by back-to-back champions Jamaica College (JC).

This year, he returned to action in the second round, due to international track duties. He helped to power the Wolmerians to some big wins in the Manning and Super cups, but they ended the season trophyless.