World Champs debutant eager to surpass limits
Published:Wednesday | August 16, 2023 | 12:13 AM
BUDAPEST, Hungary:
EVEN AFTER arriving at a week-long camp last week and even after coming to the team hotel yesterday, national shot put champion and national record holder Rajindra Campbell is still coming to terms with making his first World Championship team.
While being here in Budapest is already special and he plans to take mental images of his experience, he is also of the belief that he is capable of more.
Campbell broke the national record last month in Madrid with an effort of 22.22 metres just to achieve the qualification standard. That wasn’t a part of the plan originally set out for him by his coach.
Not that Campbell is complaining, by any means.
“I wasn’t really chasing the standard because I was advised not to because of the rankings. I was ranking like 25th so the goal was just improving and not the distance. “That is something that caught my mind. I said that the possibility of making the team is very high. So it was just focusing on going to the meet and putting in my best performance,” Cambell told The Gleaner.
“And fortunately for me, I got the national record. It boosted my confidence and I am here. I am here for a reason. And hopefully, at the end of the championships, I will be smiling and Jamaica will be proud. “
Campbell is getting used to the World Championship grind, adapting thanks to the counsel of 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Traves Smikle, and 2019 world championship silver medallist Fedrick Dacres.
“I am still yet to process it. But I am excited to be here. For example, Fedrick and Traves, are the ones that guided me and made me feel comfortable. Mentally, I am prepared, physically I am prepared and getting to know the team a little bit, I am excited.”
Campbell will enter his first World Championships with the fourth-best throw of the year, bested only by reigning champion Ryan Crouser (23.56), World Championships silver medallist, Joe Kovacs (22.69), and former World Champion, Tom Walsh (22.58)
And while his monster throw was unexpected, it proved to him that he is capable of producing a lot more when he begins this Saturday.
“The goal was to get the further throw at the World Championships. That was a shock, but it proved to me that I was in good shape. It proved to me that my body is capable. And it is peak time to go beyond that. The expectation I have of myself is really higher than other people. So I think from day one, my objective was, one; make the team. Once I am here there is a level playing field, and there are endless possibilities. So I crossed all those hurdles now and it’s just to make the most of the opportunity which I am very excited about.”