British long jumper Jazmin Sawyers won’t compete in this summer’s Paris Olympics due to an Achilles rupture, it has been confirmed.
On Thursday, the 29-year-old announced on Instagram that she had undergone a successful surgery on her take-off leg. In 2023, Sawyers secured her maiden major long jump title at the European Indoor Championships.
“It’s bad, but I am looking ahead to rehab, recovery and the future,” Sawyers said. “Obviously I’m devastated. I really thought this was going to be my year.
“There’s always the risk that something like this happens, and up to this point I’ve been so lucky. “I still have so many goals that I haven’t yet achieved in this sport and this is the biggest challenge I’ve faced so far in pursuit of those goals.
“But I still believe I can do it. It’s going to take a few more years than I thought, but I can still get there. It’ll be a long road, but I’m ready to work hard, make a full recovery and resume my career.”
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Sawyers was not regarded as a medal contender for Team GB at Paris 2024, following her inability to qualify for the long jump final during last summer’s World Athletics Championships. She, did, however, participate in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, achieving eighth place in both events.
The 29-year-old long jumper clinched gold in the 2023 European Indoor Athletics Championships with a 7-meter jump, setting a new British record in the process. A silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, Sawyers also earned silver at the 2016 European Championships. Additionally, she secured bronze in the same event six years later.
However, Stoke-on-Trent-born Sawyers fell short of reaching the final at the last year’s World Championships in Budapest, recording a leap of only 6.41m in the qualifying round.