Thomas-Dodd sets new national and PanAm record to win shot put gold

Rachid Parchment, Assistant Sports Editor

LIMA, Peru:

National women’s shot put record holder Danniel Thomas-Dodd is now also the Pan American Games record holder.

Thomas-Dodd threw a distance of 19.55m, which is also a new national record, to finish ahead of Canada’s Brittany Crew, with a personal best of 19.07m, and USA’s Jessica Ramsey’s season’s best of 19.01m to break the previous 36-year-old record of 19.34m set by Cuba’s María Elena Sarría in Caracas, Venezuela in 1983.

Thomas-Dodd said coming into the Games, her form suggested the accomplishment was possible.

“It feels really good to have done this,” she said. “Coming in, I knew based on my season’s best and the distances I’ve been throwing all season, I knew that the Pan Am Games record was attainable. Essentially, I just wanted the gold and that’s what I got.”

Thomas-Dodd's previous best and national record stood at 19.48m, which she threw earlier this year. 

Following Thomas-Dodd’s win, Aisha Praught-Leer brought a silver medal for Jamaica in the women’s 1500m final, finishing in 4:28.26 minutes, behind USA’s Dominique Hiltz (4:07.14). Hiltz’s teammate Alexa Efraimson was third in 4:08.63 minutes.

Jamaica now has 17 medals: six gold, five silver, and six bronze.