IMPROVING his personal best and earning that elusive World Championships medal will be the focus of Commonwealth Games shot put silver medallist Dorian Scott this season.

“My PR (personal record) is 21.45m and I’d like to continue throwing that, maybe hit 22m, but for me it’s consistency this year,” Scott told the Observer just before a training session at St Hugh’s High School Thursday last.

Scott was in the island for Friday evening’s RJR Sports Foundation Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards Function where he, along with nine other men, was nominated for the award.

Scott lost out to eventual winner, former West Indies cricket captain Chris Gayle after throwing a PR 21.45m at Tallahassee, Florida, in 2008.

He, however, tore his Achilles tendon close to the end of the 2009 season, which hampered his training for a period, but he was able to bounce back in time to win the title at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and claimed the silver medal in his pet event in New Delhi, India, later in the year.

“To bounce back from that… I feel good. I had tendonitis two years prior, so this is the healthiest I’ve felt in a while; it’s just a matter of just getting there,” Scott told the Observer.

The life of an athlete who specialises in the field events can be tough, especially when representing a small country with limited resources like Jamaica.

“The same group of competitors I’ve had the same age, they’ve progressed. But at the same time they’ve had ridiculous amounts of support.

“I’m trying to do this, work a little job, pay a bunch of bills, I had to pay for my surgery. Every year I’ve just been proud of what I’ve done,” he added.

“Whatever I put out there I just hope everybody is just thankful for what I did.”

He added that his goal will be to throw above 21 metres again this season, and while he does not yet know where he will compete, all will be in preparation for this summer’s World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

While Scott understands the financial challenges facing the local sporting body, he implored them to be more mindful of the plight of throwers, explaining that the big sporting good contracts do not always come their way unless they are in the top 10 or 15 in the world.

“I don’t blame them for anything, but the way the system is now… throwers aren’t going to get any contracts that can support us immediately, so they just have to keep that in mind,” he said.

“You have to supplement some funds to get the throwers to pay some bills and help them to progress,” he said.

At the same time, he expressed gratitude to the Jamaica Olympic Association, which he said has often been supportive when he has needed help, but said for those coming after him, the need would be even greater.

“Hopefully in the future they kind of recognise that and I know it’s difficult, but something works that the throwers are not getting any money, let’s just help them out.”

Scott is currently assistant throws coach at his alma mater at Florida State University, where he also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.