[1] She nearly missed out of the podium in the women's long jump, when Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare obtained her best possible mark of 6.91 metres at her third attempt, to claim the bronze medal.

Born and raised in New York City by Jamaican parents, Hammond is a graduate of Elmont Memorial High School, where she became a state champion in the long jump.

[2] In 2004, she attended on a track scholarship, and eventually received a bachelor of arts degree major in psychology at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Although she did not reach the mandatory target of 6.75 metres, Hammond progressed to the final round based on her performance, placing twelfth out of forty-two athletes in the event.

Two days later, Hammond challenged eleven other athletes, including Brazil's Maurren Maggi and Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva, in the final round of the competition.