'Big man thing' stepping up
Published:Wednesday | June 24, 2015 | 12:29 PMGregory Spaulding
'Big man thing' stepping up
The 'big man thing' is stepping up, as the throws are becoming one of the featured events at the JAAA National Senior Athletics Championships.
With the likes of former champion, national record holder Jason 'Dadz' Morgan hurling a claim for a spot on the team to Beijing, China, the event is in the spotlight for its upsurge.
Morgan showed tremendous form this season, with distances that can stake a medal claim at the World Championships in August.
If successful this trial, we could see Morgan's third World Championship and probably his best chance at a podium finish.
Morgan, a former sprinter turned thrower, is blessed with a wonderful technique and nimble footwork for a man his size. He currently sits atop the world listing with the only throw beyond 68 metres this season.
The robust, but hard-working, gentle giant will be hoping to erase the memories of 2013 when he was ineligible to make the Jamaica team due to his absence from the JAAA trials.
He will flex his muscles against the likes of Federick Dacres, Chad Wright, Basil Bingham and overseas-based Cannigia Raynor.
Wright is the defending champion in the discus and is vying to compile a three-peat. A former University of Nebraska National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athlete, Wright has achieved the 'A' qualifying mark and could be competing in Beijing as his objective is met.
Currently, Jamaica have two discus throwers in the top 10 of the IAAF 2015 discus throw list, Morgan and Dacres. A third Jamaican, Chad Wright, is also among the top 10 of that list.
Former World Youth and Junior champion, Dacres, has been reasonably consistent this season. The 21-year-old University of the West Indies (UWI) student has launched the projectile beyond 66 metres on two occasions this season, the first being as early as January. Later at the UWI Track & Field Invitational, he improved his season best with a 66.40m in March.
The main pusher of the heavier implement, the shot put, is the current Commonwealth champion O'Dayne Richards. He will be challenged by Raymond Brown, Wright and Dacres for a podium spot and an opportunity to represent for big men at the IAAF World Championship of 2015.