Jah-Nhai Perinchief was forced to withdraw from the final of the triple jump at the Jamaica National Championships in Kingston last night.

The 23-year-old jumped 15.99 metres with his first jump and fouled on his second before pulling out of the event at the National Stadium under a cloud of uncertainty.

Perinchief was unavailable for comment at press time.

Jordan Scott claimed the gold with a jump of 16.50m, Perinchief’s former University of Tennessee team-mate Carey McLeod jumped 15.98m to secure the silver and Clayton Brown 15.80m to clinch the bronze and round off the podium.

Perinchief had travelled to the Caribbean island in the hope of achieving the qualifying standard for the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo which stands at 17.14m.

It is a mark he came within 11 centimetres of on the way to clinching the silver medal in the triple jump at this month’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Perinchief jumped 17.03 metres with his first jump in the final to break the previous Tennessee record of 16.94 that had stood for 36 years and eclipse his own personal best of 16.69.