Damar Forbes Joins Pirate Track & Field Staff

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina track & field has added Olympian Damar Forbes to its coaching staff as an assistant, program director Virgil Givens announced Wednesday.

 

“I am excited to welcome Damar Forbes to the staff,” said Givens. “He brings an elite level of experience and knowledge that will help grow a championship brand. He has a contagious energy that fits perfectly with the culture we are building. His experience both at the collegiate and international levels will be vital to the elevation of our program.”

 

A two-time Olympian, six-time world championships participant and NCAA champion, Forbes comes to Greenville after three years at Brown where he primarily worked with the team’s sprinters and jumpers.

 

While at Brown, Forbes helped coach three NCAA qualifiers/while guiding the men’s 4×100 meter relay team to a school record in 2025.

 

Previously he served as an assistant coach for sprints/hurdles and jumps at Loyola University New Orleans, where he coached two NAIA National Championship qualifiers. His athletes set seven school records and had nine top five all-time school performances. He also was the Owner/Sports Performance Coach at Airborne Sports LLC, assisting in coaching U.S. and Canadian Olympic athletes, including Canadian national champion and Olympic sprinter Khamica Bingham.

 

As an athlete, Forbes is a two-time Olympian in the long jump, representing Jamaica in both London and Rio. He is a five-time Jamaican national champion, a two-time finalist at the world championships, and won a silver medal at the 2011 CAC Games.

 

At the collegiate level, he was a decorated jumper at LSU, winning the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the long jump in 2013 while winning multiple SEC titles across the long jump and 4x100m relay. A six-time Al-America, Forbes graduated at No. 2 all-time in the LSU record books in both the indoor and outdoor long jump. He graduated from LSU in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in sports administration with a concentration in sports leadership.

 

After his college career, Forbes was a professional track and field athlete sponsored by Nike and Puma from 2013-2021, winning 10 international competitions in nine different countries.