Lawrence gave ‘her all’ for national record

Olympian Shadae Lawrence twice extended her national discus record at the weekend.

Throwing in Tucson, Arizona, on May 22, Lawrence ended with a distance of 67.05m, the fourth-longest throw in the world this year.

The Jamaican was second at the USA Track and Field Throws Festival, behind Dutchwoman Jorinde van Klinken who had a throw of 70.22m.

The result had Lawrence smiling from ear to ear.

“Knowing that we have a lot of work to do still, you know, we’re still in our heavy season, so to know that I’m producing these throws now, it’s exciting,” she said.

She got going slowly in Tucson.

“The surface was very slick and when the surface is slick, you can’t really feel anything,” she said. “That’s why I know that there’s a lot more I can do because, that 67, I did not feel it, but I know that I gave it my all in the finish.”

However, after modest tosses in rounds one and two, she hit 63.72m in round three.

“The third one was very flat,” she said. “I thought it was about 60-point-something, so when I heard it was 63, I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ I think the reason it was flat too was because of the surface.”

With a tip from coach Julian Robinson, she made an adjustment to her angle of release.

“If I can get some height on the implement, it’s gonna go!” she said.

The adjustment paid dividends in round four as she pushed past her own national record of 65.05m to 65.47m and to 67.05m on her fifth attempt.

LET IT RIP

Ironically, the big throw almost didn’t happen.

“Funny thing is that I was going to abort the throw because I felt like the discus was going to fall out of my hand,” she said. “I’ve started to grip the discus a different way, so I felt like the discus was going to fall out of my hand.

Fortunately, she let it rip.

“I was like, ‘Let me just reach at the front, just bomb the throw’, and that’s what I did,” Lawrence said.

She is based in the US with Robinson coaching her from Jamaica via the Internet, so his presence in Tucson was especially helpful.

“Most of the meets I go to, I have to coach myself,” she said.

“It’s so refreshing for someone to tell me what to do, to see what I’m doing wrong, because he knows what I’m doing wrong.”

Asked when she would be competing next, Lawrence said, “That’s not clear as yet, where I’m going to throw, but definitely still putting in the work so whatever comes up, I’m ready, but the ultimate goal is definitely the Olympics.”

sports@gleanerjm.com