Henderson Sets New Goals After Achieving Olympic Target

Published by IAAF on November 19, 2016

At the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015, four-time world long jump champion Dwight Phillips predicted that Jeff Henderson was ready to be anointed as the latest champion.

It was easy to see why his optimism was high. Heading into the Bird’s Nest Stadium, Henderson had two legal jumps beyond 8.50m, had secured the Pan American title and looked poised for gold.

His qualification supported this belief as he led the finalists with an impressive 8.36m. Yet in the final he saved his one bad competition of the year for when it mattered most as he placed a disconsolate ninth with 7.95m to leave Beijing empty handed.

“I was so frustrated,” recalls Henderson. “I had put in too many hours and too much work to perform like that. It was a big let-down. I think I beat myself up and put too much pressure on myself to get a big one out there.”