Jamaican superstar Michael O’Hara gets court order – will be allowed to compete at 2015 Penn Relays

By LetsRun.com
April 23, 12015

Today, LetsRun.com received the following press release via email regarding Jamaican teen sensation Michael O’Hara. Due to his signing of a sponsorship deal in Jamaica, O’Hara had been declared ineligible for the 2015 Penn Relays but he now has a court order allowing him to compete. O’Hara, just 18, is a budding superstar. At the Jamaican Boys and Girls Champs, he won the 100, 200, 110h and 4 x 100.

Jaheel Hyde, another Jamaican HSer who was ruled ineligible for the high school competition at Penn, will compete at Penn but only in the Olympic development 400h.

Quick Thought #1: This is how it should be. We’ve never understood why any high schooler who “goes pro” would be prevented from competing in high school competition. High school means you are in high school. We guess one could make the same argument for college athletes but college athletes are different in our mind. They are being ‘paid’ by the schools with a scholarship. In return, they agree not to go pro.  High school is no different than junior competition in our minds. It’s just an age thing.

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