The throwers’ dilemma

Paris, France:

TWO-TIME NATIONAL shot put champion and national record holder Rajindra Campbell has had to take a long road to make his Olympic debut in Paris tomorrow.

Campbell, in a bid to compete with the best at his craft, has had to take a full-time job to support himself.

Campbell is hoping that his debut will be a turning point, not just for him, but for other persons struggling to make ends meet and keep their sporting dreams alive.

Last year, Campbell took a huge step forward, qualifying for his first major senior global championships at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, breaking the national record in the process (22.22m) on July 22. He made it to the final, and although he did not register a mark, it was the foundation for more.

This year, Campbell is tied for the sixth best thrower in the world with a best distance of 22.16, but it has not been easy.

Without a sponsor, he has to take a full-time job and balance it with training.

“I believe that it is a difficult task for the athletes who are not sponsored like myself,” Rajindra told The Gleaner.

“I believe that America is our greatest rivals. They make an emphasis to make sure that the athletes that they believe can make the finals or possibly medal are looked after.

“Unfortunately for myself and a couple other athletes, we have to figure out a way because the bills keep coming and they have to be paid. As a man, you have to make it necessary to make sure that everything is taken care of. It’s been difficult. I have been trying to make it work.”

To do that, Campbell, who is based in the United States, worked for a while at a hospital but needed to change routes when he could not devote his time equally.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to devote my time there because between practice and all that. Recently, I’m working at Dominos. Working from there, they kind of understand the reason I’m there, and they understood. So it was easy to get the time off needed,” Campbell said.

But while his job has been supportive of his Olympic dreams, it does not change the main issue.

Campbell wants to be supported in such a way that limits the need to make tough decisions.

However, Campbell refuses to let the challenges stop him from excelling on the biggest stage of all.

“I believe that there should be more done for the athletes. The emails are being sent [but falling on] deaf ears. It is a complicated situation, but at the end of the day, I’m doing this for me,” Campbell said.

“As much as I am representing my country, I am doing it for me, so I kind of take that focus and more forward.”

Campbell’s campaign begins tomorrow at 1:10 p.m, Jamaica time.

Daniel Wheeler