His propensity for throwing or flinging things has propelled Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards into one of the best shot putters in the world, and what a fantastic 2015 season he has had.

Richards, who is nicknamed ‘Fred’, revealed that he got the moniker at St George’s College because of his love for flinging stones, hence the comparison to the cartoon character Fred Flinstone.

Richards, who created history by becoming Jamaica’s first gold medallist in the shot put at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, showed that he is for real by copping bronze at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, last year.

Now 27 years old, Richards has won Jamaica’s first shot put medal at a World Championships and equalled his own national record of 21.69m.

American Joe Kovacs won the gold with a throw of 21.93m and David Storl of Germany walked away with the silver medal after throwing 21.74m.

It’s the second consecutive year Richards has been nominated for the RJR Sportsman of the Year award, and he is a deserving candidate too.

Only two throwers in Kovacs and Storl have thrown farther than Richards in 2015, both going over the 22m mark with Kovac ending the year with 22.56m and Storl 22.20m.

Richards twice did 21.69m as earlier in the year he won the Pan American gold in Toronto, Canada in July, and proved that he is a big-time championship performer.

He also won gold at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in 2011 and 2013.

The powerful thrower, standing at just 5ft 10ins, which is considered short for a world-class shot putter, might not be the favourite to win the RJR Sportsman of the Year title, but based on his progression in the event in putting Jamaica on the map, ‘Fred’ is already a winner in his own rights.