JJ Jegede

JJ Jegede (born 3 October 1985) is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump. He finished fourth in the long jump at the 2012 European Athletics Championships, just seven centimetres off a medal.

JJ Jegede
JJ Jegede in 2013
Personal information
Nationality Great Britain
Born (1985-10-03) 3 October 1985
Newham, United Kingdom
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight12 st 4 lb (78 kg)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Long jump
ClubNewham & Essex Beagles
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Long jump 8.11 m (London 2012)

He works as a personal trainer and as mentor for young people.[1]

He was not selected for the British team for the 2012 Olympics, as he did not have the "A" standard of 8.20m.[2] He competed at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and European Championships in Zurich, making the final in both.

Early life

Jegede grew up in Hackney as the youngest of four children.[3] He had a rough upbringing, going through a number of evictions when his mother was not able to pay rent.[4] He attended Barking Abbey School.[5] He wanted to become a professional footballer and was offered trials at Norwich and Tottenham Hotspur, but at the beginning of secondary school he was diagnosed with Osgood–Schlatter disease, which stopped him from playing.[5]

Promotional work

In 2011, Jegede jumped over three Mini Coopers as part of an advertising campaign for the Mini London 2012 edition models.[6] He is involved in the Metropolitan Police's Met Track scheme,[7] as well as Sky's Living For Sport campaign.[8] As part of this, he has done numerous school visits.[9][10][11]

Statistics

Personal bests
Event Mark Competition Venue Date
60 m 6.97i Birmingham Games Birmingham, Great Britain 2 February 2008
10 0m 10.89 London Inter Club Challenge Hendon, Great Britain 26 July 2008
200 m 22.42 Loughborough International Loughborough, Great Britain 18 May 2008
Long jump 8.11 London Grand Prix Crystal Palace, Great Britain 13 July 2012

References
  1. "JJ Jegede - Sky Sports Living for Sport". livingforsport.skysports.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  2. Nash, Matthew (28 July 2012). "JJ Jegede: I was tempted to ditch Great Britain after Olympic snub". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  3. "JJ Jegede - GB Athlete & London Personal Trainer". www.jjjegede.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  4. Hart, Simon (28 June 2012). "JJ Jegede Telegraph Interview". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  5. "Flown From the Nest - JJ Jegede". www.ex-canaries.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  6. "Olympic Long Jump Hopeful Jumps Over Three Minis In London". The Huffington Post. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  7. "JJ Jegede". Met-Track. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  8. "JJ Jegede". Sky Sports - Living for Sport. Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  9. Sessions, George. "GB athlete visits local school". Newham Recorder. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  10. "JJ Jegede | Joseph Swan Academy". www.josephswan.org.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  11. Caron. "JJ Jegede 'People are Awesome!'". www.gbhs.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
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