UPEI’s track and field program welcomes versatile jumper Jeremy Norman

By Thomas Becker

While UPEI's track and field program has found success on the tracks, it is in the field where they anticipate making the biggest improvement. 

Panthers head coach Colin MacAdam hopes rookie jumper Jeremy Norman can develop into an elite competitor who will challenge for medals much like UPEI student-athlete Bailey Smith did throughout her career as a 60-metre sprinter. 

The 18-year-old from Charlottetown may not be the first jumper the Panthers have fielded—that designation goes to Kylee Wallace, who specialized in the long and triple jumps—but Norman is the first to participate in all three jumping events, including high jump. 

"Jeremy is a very good athlete who can compete in a number of events for us," MacAdam said.

Initially, Norman started out as a sprinter, but he was always interested in jumping events, specifically the high jump. So, in Grade 8, he finally decided to give it a try despite having no training. It was a struggle at first, but as a self-motivator, Norman searched for videos online of professional high jumpers and studied their technique.

"I was also always interested in track and field from a young age, watching sprinters like Usain Bolt and jumpers like Christian Taylor at the Olympics, and being amazed how far they could push their bodies to produce the results they wanted."

Once he reached high school, he picked up the other two jumping events and continued to push himself. While COVID-19 made it challenging to compete in his final years at high school, he was fortunate enough to participate in some local meets in 2021, where he placed first in all three jumping events. Norman always strives to be the best and admitted he is his own harshest critic. 

"I believe that honestly critiquing even the smallest flaws in your technique and actively working towards correcting those flaws makes for the most successful jump athletes," he said.

MacAdam said he is excited to see how Norman fares against the best the AUS has to offer in the jumping events, but he also sees a world of potential in his newest recruit as a runner too.

"Jeremy can help us out in a variety of events, but the best fit may eventually be in multi-events like heptathlon or decathlon," MacAdam said. "That will require a lot of work and some serious logistics when dealing with training, but he has a great set of abilities."