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Blessing in disguise - Thomas-Dodd making most of World Indoors cancellation

Published:Monday | February 17, 2020 | 12:23 AMDaniel Wheeler/Gleaner Writer
Thomas-Dodd
Thomas-Dodd

World Athletics Championships women’s shot put silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd says that the cancellation of this year’s World Athletics Indoor Championships has lessened her workload as she prepares for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

The national record holder had every intention of competing in the meet, scheduled for Nanjing, China, but it was postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak in that country. She said that the news was welcome as the short preparation period would have complicated her schedule, given that her last season ended late, with the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, ending in October.

“Actually, I look at it as a blessing in disguise because the World Outdoor Championships was so close, and then the preparation for the World Indoor Championships was short in terms of immediate rest. To get to where I wanted to be, it was a [short] time frame,” Thomas-Dodd told The Gleaner.

Thomas-Dodd has competed in one meet since then, and with her focus now solely on making the Olympic team this summer, she says she is anxious to begin her season on the outdoor circuit.

Back in training

“I’m just back in training now working on the things that I set out to work on this season,” she said.

The Frome Technical High School past student became the first Caribbean woman to medal in the women’s shot put in Doha with a distance of 19.47m. China’s Gong Lijiao retained the title with 19.55m, but for a moment, Thomas-Dodd believed that she had snatched the title away from defending champion. On her fifth attempt, her throw landed on the 20m mark, but the officials ruled the effort a foul, denying her Jamaica’s first-ever title in the discipline.

She says that she has paid more attention to improving and has not given much thought to the moment when she thought that she had claimed gold.

“I kind of don’t dwell on it too much because if I try to think about what has happened, it won’t allow me to move forward and move on to working on the things that I need to work on,” she said. “Instead of doing that, I try to think about what’s to come and focus on that as I go forward.”

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com