James Beckford (athlete)

James Beckford (born 9 January 1975 in Saint Mary, Jamaica) is a Jamaican track and field athlete competing in the long jump. He represented Jamaica at the Olympic level in 1996, 2000 and 2004. He was the silver medallist in the long jump at the 1996 Olympics and also has two silvers from the World Championships in Athletics (from 1995 and 2003). He was chosen as the Jamaica Sportsman of the Year for 1995, 1996 and 2003. He is the current holder of the Jamaican record for both the long jump and triple jump with marks of 8.62 m and 17.92 m, respectively.
Beckford was educated in the United States and began his athletics career there, specialising in the horizontal jumps. He took the triple jump title at Florida's Class AAAA championship, representing William R. Boone High School. He moved to Texas to study at Blinn College. While there he improved Delroy Poyser's Jamaican record with a jump of 17.29 metres (56 ft 8¾ in) – a mark which was also the world-leading outdoor jump at that point in April 1994.
He was banned from competition for three months in 1997 after he tested positive for ephedrine, a banned stimulant.
He has competed at the World Championships on five occasions and the IAAF World Indoor Championships on six occasions. Aside from his global performances, he has won medals at the Summer Universiade, the Goodwill Games, the IAAF Grand Prix Final, as well as a silver medal from the 1998 CAC Games.