Olympic quarter-miler Tovea Jenkins calls it quits

JAMAICAN OLYMPIAN Tovea Jenkins has called time on her track and field career.

The 32-year-old, former Mount Alvernia and Herbert Morrisson Technical athlete, who specialises in the 400 metres, was most recently a member of the Maurice Wilson-coached SprinTec Track and Field Group.

She cited a persistent Achilles tendon injury as the reason for bringing her career to an end.

Jenkins, who attended Johnson C Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, following sixth form at Herbert Morrison on a track and field scholarship, was coached by Jamaican Lennox Graham.

She made her first national senior team to the World Indoor Games in Birmingham, England, in 2018. There she finished sixth in the 400 metres.

Jenkins was also part of the women’s 4x400-metre relay team that ended second but was disqualified.

That year, she also made it to the Commonwealth Games in Australia where she advanced to the semifinals. However, injury forced her out of the remainder of the meet.

She returned to Jamaica later that year and became a member of SprinTec where she found the going tough.

“The first part of this new journey was very difficult for me but after hard work and dedication, I was able to make it to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. “At the National Championships, I finished fifth in the the 400 in 50.60 seconds to be a member of the 4x400-metre relay group,” said Jenkins about what she calls her most cherished performance to date.

After making it as a part of the national team to last year’s World Relays in the Bahamas, injury forced her from competing at the meet.

“The persistent Achilles tendon injury forced me from competing at that meet and that was it for me as it was the last straw,” said Jenkins.

Still, she is thankful for what the sport has brought her.

“I am really thankful for track and field as the sport has helped with the elevation of my career. It has given me two degrees and I have no regrets,” she said.

While she will not be hurtling around a track at breakneck speed, Jenkins will not be walking away from the sport completely.

“Now with my retirement, I am not walking away from the sport as I want to play a role at SprinTec, preferably a management role. With two bachelor’s degrees in economics and business, I am planning to do my master’s degree in data analytics and that could possibly help me to be an agent of the club,” she said.