Jah-Nhai Perinchief On Missing Pan Am Games
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Jah-Nhai Perinchief has revealed he opted against competing at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, believing it was not worth the risk after tearing his hamstring twice this season.
The triple jumper expected to challenge for the podium in Santiago but believes it made more sense to remain in the United States and focus on dealing with an issue which has plagued him for several years.
He tore his hamstring at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador, in June, before suffering a repeat injury in his first jump at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August.
“I’m back training and probably could have gone to Pan Am, but it just didn’t make sense,” Perinchief told Bernews.
“It’s an Olympic year, so I decided to take care of my injury and hopefully go to a bigger Games next summer.
“Pan Am is so late in the year. For most athletes, this is usually a conditioning period. I could have possibly gone there, hurt myself, and ended up sitting out six months rather than two.
“I’m continuing with my conditioning to ensure my hamstring is stronger than ever so I don’t have any more problems. Hopefully, my body can hold up for next season.”
The 25-year-old, who enjoyed a superb debut campaign as a professional athlete in 2022, winning the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – despite resuming training just two weeks before his event because of hamstring issues – will now turn his attentions to qualifying for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March and the Olympics in Paris next summer.
“I want to use indoors to set up outdoors and hopefully hit the standard or earn the points needed to go to the Olympics,” the Arkansas-based athlete said.
The Bermudian’s injury problems date back to his time as a student-athlete, where he doubled up in the triple jump and high jump before undergoing extensive rehab for a hip injury in 2017 and tearing his hamstring a year later.
Ultimately, he focused on the triple jump, a physically less demanding discipline.
“My injuries have been a chain effect from the increased training load in college compared to Bermuda, where it’s more relaxed and less strenuous,” he added.
“In college, they pay for your schooling and need you to compete. I did some damage, and now I’m trying to erase the past.
“The way I look at it, injuries come with sports. You need to keep a positive mentality, and that’s my mindset.”
