Ronald Levy (born 30 October 1992) is a Jamaican male track and field athlete who competes in the 110 metres hurdles. He holds a personal best of 13.05 seconds for that event, set in 2017, as well as a 100 metres sprint best of 10.17 seconds.[2] He was the gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics in 2017.

Ronald Levy
Ronald Levy in 2018
Personal information
Born (1992-10-30) 30 October 1992 (age 32)
Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight83 kg (183 lb)[1]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event110 metres hurdles
College teamUniversity of Technology, Jamaica
Coached byStephen Francis
Brigitte Foster-Hylton
Achievements and titles
Personal best110 m hurdles: 13.05
Medal record
Representing  Jamaica
Men's athletics
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo 110 m hurdles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 110 m hurdles
Continental Cup
Silver medal – second place 2018 Ostrava 110 m hurdles

Born in Westmoreland Parish, he went on to study at the University of Technology, Jamaica.[1] He took time to develop as an elite athlete, initially competing in a variety of sprint and hurdles events. In the 2014 season, he ran a best of 20.81 seconds for the 200 metres, showing his flat speed. He gradually improved his time in the 110 m hurdles, running 13.63 seconds in 2015 and 13.50 in 2016.[2]

A significant breakthrough came in the 2017 season under the coaching of Stephen Francis and Brigitte Foster-Hylton. He defeated Olympic medallist Hansle Parchment at the UTech Classic before winning at the Penn Relays in a new best of 13.33 seconds. On his IAAF Diamond League debut he was runner-up to Olympic champion Omar McLeod at the Prefontaine Classic – his time of 13.10 seconds ranked him second in the world behind his compatriot.[3] He was runner-up to McLeod at the Jamaican Athletics Championships in June,[4] then overhauled his rival to win at the Meeting de Paris Diamond League, establishing himself among the world's best with a time of 13.05 seconds.[5] Another win followed at the Meeting Città di Padova, but at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics he failed at the first hurdle in the heats and withdrew.[6]

He had his first indoor hurdles appearances in 2018 and, after a win at the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix, he managed to reach the 60 metres hurdles semi-finals at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships, narrowly missing out on qualification for the final by one hundredth of a second.[7] He achieved his first international medal at the age of 25, taking gold at the Commonwealth Games in a Jamaican 1–2 with Hansle Parchment.[8]

In June 2020, Levy won the Jamaican Olympic trials with a time of 13.10 to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the final of the 110 m hurdles at the Olympic Games he won the bronze medal with a time of 13.10, finishing behind Hansle Parchment and Grant Holloway.[citation needed]

Personal bests

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International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 110 m hurdles DNF
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 9th (sf) 60 m hurdles 7.62
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 1st 110 m hurdles 13.19
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 14th (h) 110 m hurdles 13.481
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd 110 m hurdles 13.10
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 26th (h) 60 m hurdles 7.75

1Disqualified in the semifinals

References

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  1. ^ a b c Ronald Levy. 2018GC. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  2. ^ a b Ronald Levy. IAAF. Retrieved on 2018-04-11.
  3. ^ Levy humbled by hurdles performances. Jamaica Gleaner (2017-06-12). Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  4. ^ Francis, Noel (2017-06-25). McLeod scorches to 12.90 110m hurdles win at Jamaican Championships. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. ^ Chepkoech and Levy upstage Olympic champions in Paris – IAAF Diamond League. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  6. ^ Mills, Steven (2017-08-06). Report: men's 110m hurdles heats – IAAF World Championships London 2017. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  7. ^ Sutton, Nicola (2018-03-04). Report: men's 60m hurdles semi-finals - IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  8. ^ Commonwealth Games: Levy takes sprint hurdles gold, Parchment silver. Jamaica Observer (2018-04-10). retrieved 2018-04-11.
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