Shot put profile not rising – Richards

OSLO, Norway;

ALTHOUGH he's brought the shot put into the spotlight from a local perspective over the last two to three years with titles at the Central American and Caribbean, Pan America, and Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the World championships, O'Dayne Richards doesn't believe the event will ever be more than the 'ugly stepsister' to track and field's more celebrated sprint events.

Richards, has slowly built on his success since his first third place finish at the NACAC Under 23 championships in Florida to a win at the CAC championships and the World University Games a year later.

He finished 20th at the World Championships in 2013 and won Commonwealth Gold in Glasgow a year later, but it was last year he had a real breakthrough, first winning gold at the Pan Am Games in Toronto before throwing a personal best-equalling 21.69 metres to finish third in Beijing, a feat that had never been accomplished by a Jamaican.

Richards underwent surgery on his tibia in March as he said he had been competing on a fractured shin in March for a while.After throwing 19 metres earlier this month he surpassed the 20 metres mark at an all comers meet in Jamaica last weekend.

"It has not been going well but hopefully. I know 20m is there still I just need to be on point," he said.

"I don't think there is any real change. It's just more or less much of the same. A lot more people know me now than Beijing.

"I'd find that I'd go to some meets and there'd be people standing outside the hotel wanting autographs and things like that. Outside of that it's much of the same," said Richards.