The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

RIO de Janeiro, Brazil — Although this is his first appearance at the Olympic Games, Jamal ‘Mally’ Wilson said he feels right at home in good company with the rest of the men’s high jumpers from around the world.

“The experience has been awesome at the Olympic Games,” said Wilson as he spoke to the Bahamian media at the Games Village. “Actually, it’s going better than I expected, right down to the free stuff, down to the food, down to just seeing all of the stars walking around.

“The opening ceremony was great. I got a chance to get a little bit of airtime. I know the people at home got to see me. I appreciate all the love and support that I’m getting from that end. I appreciate you. Shout out to Rio Snapshot for putting me, Donald Thomas and Adrian Griffith on the story. We got hundreds of thousands of viewers from that side. So it’s been a blessing so far.”

Despite all of the negative publicity that he heard prior to coming here, Wilson said he was never concerned about all of the media hype.

“I wasn’t concerned at all because they had ample time to prepare,” he said. “Me personally, I think it was all just for media purposes to hype it up a bit. We come from a hard place in the Bahamas, so ain’t much things could surprise us. I came here just to perform well and to enjoy this atmosphere.”

Wilson, a 27-year-old graduate from the University of Texas, will be one of three Bahamians representing the Bahamas in the men’s high jump when the preliminary round is staged on Sunday, August 14 at 7:30 pm EST with the final is set for Tuesday, August 16 at 7:30 pm EST.

“I just want to be consistent, working my way up to the day of the competition,” he stated. “If I can do that, I can give myself a sure chance to make it to the final, then after the final, I can fight for the medal.”

Calling it an “electric” feeling so far, Wilson said he feel “at home. It doesn’t feel brand new to me” and that puts him in a good position to compete in his first major international meet, although he did the Commonwealth Games two years ago.

“All year I’ve working to bring myself up to this point, so the momentum is moving forward. I don’t feel like a newcomer because everyone on the circuit know my face now,” he stressed. “So I’m a part of the track and field family and the Bahamas people to have a potential to get a medal at these games.”

As for the trio that will represent the Bahamas together for the first time at the Olympics, Wilson said they all deserve to be here.

“If we could get more, we would have more, but three is the maximum,” he pointed out. “Unfortunately, we have three capable guys who can go out there and perform very well.”

At the end of the competition, Wilson is hoping that he will be one of the top performers.