SCOTT ... my main goal right now is to be an impact in the world as far as the shot put goes

JAMAICA'S 2006 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games shot put champion Dorian Scott re-wrote the field event chapter of the national record book by establishing a new mark in his pet event at the FSU Relays staged on the weekend in Tallahassee, United States.

The four-time national champion threw the 16-pound metal ball 20.52 metres to better his previous national record of 20.34 done at last summer's CAC Games in Cartagena, Columbia by 18 centimetres.

"I'm very, very happy about that (new record)... this fits in with the plan I've had for the past few years of upward momentum," Scott told the Observer yesterday afternoon, before heading out to training. "Being that it (record) came so early in the season, it has helped to build my confidence later on, especially before I head over to Europe to compete," he added.

According to the statistics posted on the IAAF performances list, Scott, who won the silver medal at the last year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, now has the fourth best throw in the world.

Only Resse Hoffa and Christian Cantwell (twice) - both of the United States - have registered better outdoor distances than Scott, so far this season.

"I just want to stay over 20.50 and above from here on into the remainder of the season," the 25-year-old reasoned.

Hoffa tops the IAAF list with 21.84 metres followed by Cantwell's best of 21.43m.

Scott, who won gold at the CAC Championships in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2005, told the Observer that he plans to make the shot put final at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, between August 25 and September 2, later this year.

"My main goal right now is to be an impact in the world as far as the shot put goes and keep my name steady up there (close to the top)," Scott said, noting that he wants to be able to compete with the likes of Hoffa and Cantwell within the next couple of months. "Especially pulling around the Pan Am Games (July 13-29 in Brazil) and World Championship time... I want to be right in the 21-metre mark because I've been having good throws in practice and at this point I just want to be in the right atmosphere, so I can throw something real big," he said.

"When it comes to Osaka, I want to make sure I get to the final and anything can happen from there, I can definitely see myself winning it (because) I'm not afraid of the competition," Scott said.

Due to graduate from Florida State University (FSU) next month with a degree in Social Science, Scott is still in need of some financial assistance to continue training at a high level.

Last July, this newspaper reported that Scott was facing an uphill battle in realising his dreams of becoming a dominant force internationally.

His next competition will take place within two weeks in Tallahassee, USA.

Scott's Progression of the national shot put record:
19.46 10.04.2004 Tallahassee, USA
19.61 23.04.2005 Tallahassee, USA
19.61 10.07.2005 Nassau, Bahamas
19.74 10.07.2005 Nassau, Bahamas
20.21 10.07.2005 Nassau, Bahamas
20.21 29.04.2006 Orlando, USA
20.33 24.06.2006 Kingston, Jamaica
20.34 29.07.2006 Cartagena, Columbia
20.52 31.03.2007 Tallahassee, USA

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