James Beckford (born January 9, 1975 in St. Mary, Jamaica ) is a track and field athlete, competing internationally for the Jamaica. He was fourth in the Long Jump at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

He was the world's top junior long and triple jumper in 1994 having improved from 7.53m to 8.13m (8.29m wind assisted) and from 15.70m to 17.29m. In 1996 he became the first Jamaican to win an Olympic medal in a field event when he placed second in the long jump. He holds the Commonwealth record with 8.62m set in 1997 and the Commonwealth indoor record with 8.40m set in 1996. He also held the Commonwealth triple jump record with 17.92m (in 1995) before Jonathan Edwards broke the world record. He rivals Mike Conley as the world's best combination long and triple jumper. In 2003 he was named Jamaican Sportsperson of the Year, the fourth time he has been honoured with the award. He became involved in gymnastics at the age of six, and claims that the flexibility and concentration skills he learned from gymnastics help him in track events. He practiced at both gymnastics and athletics until arriving in the United States in 1990. His hobbies are movies, dancing, playing and cleaning his house.