Chang chasing discus gold in Chengdu

Fired up by a disappointing finish at the recent National Championships, discus thrower Kai Chang is on his way to Chengdu, China for the 31st World University Games, with gold on his mind. The World Under-20 champion in 2018 is hoping to add another global title to his collection.

“I am feeling very good”, he said on Wednesday, the day before his departure from Jamaica.

“Actually, I’m feeling very excited. It’s been a very long season for me competing, trying to find my technique, trying to find my rhythm. Closer to the National Trials, I got a season’s best. I was finding it and trying to connect everything, but it really just didn’t connect on the day.

That season’s best - 63.19 metres - at the Racers Grand Prix in June, was a sign that his recovery from knee surgery in 2021 was going well. He extended to 63.57m at the National Championships to finish fourth but fell short of the World Championships qualification requirements.

“I got a season’s best but it wasn’t really my best. So there was some level of disappointment going into National Trials and I feel like I’m really fired up with that energy going into the World University Games because I really want another World title. I’m looking to improve on my best this season before I go off to school,” said the 2023 Penn Relays College men’s discus winner.

The Games begin on July 28.

When the towering Jamaican returns, he will bounce out to the University of Florida to continue his studies and his throwing.

“I just completed my bachelor’s in sports kinetics at The University of the West Indies and I’ll be pursuing my master’s in applied physiology and kinesiology at the University of Florida, in human performance”, he revealed.

“The coach there is a really good coach, Coach Eric Werskey, and it’s a really great place to foster my talent at this point,” he explained. One of Werskey’s student-throwers, Alida van Daalen of Holland, recently won the shot put and discus at the European Under-23 Championships.

The move interrupts a fruitful athlete-coach relationship Chang established with Julian Robinson in 2017. That’s when he moved from Titchfield High School to Calabar High School, and Chang is grateful for all Robinson has taught him.

“It’s a bit sad to be leaving Coach Robinson. I’ve spent a lot of time with him and he has made me the person that I am. My technical advancements have been nurtured by him and I can’t necessarily say I’m happy to leave,” he said ruefully, “but I am definitely happy to try new experiences and to make this new step into a new environment and, definitely, after I graduate from Florida, who knows, I possibly will come back to coach.”

Chang is the second Jamaican to win the World Under-20 title. The first was Fedrick Dacres who, like Chang, is coached by Robinson.