LONDON, England:

Jamaica's Omar McLeod has caught the attention of world 110m hurdles record holder and Olympic champion, Aries Merritt.

McLeod is one of three persons who have gone below 13 seconds already this season, and Merritt has labeled him as a 'phenom'.

He noted that he expects the young Jamaican to be a major factor in the dash for medal at next month's World Championships in Beijing.

McLeod, dropped a blistering 12.97 seconds to win at the National Senior Championships in Jamaica last month, making him the joint 15th fastest sprint hurdler in history and Merritt is convinced that the former NCAA standout is primed to do even better.

"I think he (McLeod) is a phenom. He is obviously very talented having run 7.45 indoors and he has been able to translate his fast indoor time to great outdoor performances. I know he is running 12.97 this year. He has run fast so he is very talented, very strong and he will definitely be a medal contender for the World Championships because of his time so far," Merritt told STAR Sports.

"This year the hurdles is a really exciting event as it is in most years. There are a lot of athletes that are running very fast and so it should be really exciting," Merritt added.

Merritt is hoping to build his confidence as he looks to head into the World Championships in the best of shape.

"The goal is definitely to have confidence moving forward into the World Championships and hopefully run under 13 seconds," said Merritt.

- André Lowe