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Campbell surprised by national shot put record

Published:Thursday | July 27, 2023 | 12:08 AMSharla Williams/Gleaner Writer
Rajindra Campbell gets ready to throw the shot put on his way to claiming the national title with a throw of 21.04 at the JAAA/PUMA National Senior and Junior Championships inside the National Stadium recently.
Kenyon Hemans
Rajindra Campbell gets ready to throw the shot put on his way to claiming the national title with a throw of 21.04 at the JAAA/PUMA National Senior and Junior Championships inside the National Stadium recently.

MANY PEOPLE think of achieving milestones in life, and Rajindra Campbell achieved one when he broke the six-year-old national shot put record last week.

Campbell, who put 22.22 metres at the Meeting de Madrid in Spain to surpass O’Dayne Richards’ national record of 21.96, set in 2017, was surprised.

"I am very grateful for the accomplishment. I honestly wasn't expecting it, but becoming the first Jamaican to throw over 22 metres is something special," said Campbell.

The surprise is understandable with 21.31, the previous personal best for the Missouri Southern athlete, a long way from his new longest put.

Campbell threw 21.31 in May.

"I knew I had it in me to get past it, but I just didn't know how far I was going to throw. But I wasn't expecting the 22.22," the national shot put champion said.

Though Campbell is the national champion, a place at the World Athletics Championships was not guaranteed unless he improved his 21.31 to 21.40 or above, the competition’s qualification standard.

That behind him, Campbell says he feels no pressure to perform on the world stage.

RIGHT PATH

"So far, my coach and I have been working on doing my best performance at Worlds. This just proves to me that I am on the right path. I am very excited about what’s to come and hopefully, when I am done, I will be satisfied with whatever results I get," Campbell said.

"No pressure whatsoever. The goal is to remain focused on the path that I am on and try not to overthink; just keep it simple moving forward. Hopefully, the best is yet to come."

Campbell's throw is currently tied for the 22nd-best throw of all time and is the fourth best throw of those set to compete at the World Championships.

The United States’ Ryan Crouser, with 23.56, his teammate Joe Kovacs, 22.69, and New Zealand’s Tom Walsh, with 22.58, are the big men still ahead of the Jamaican in 2023.