Shot put star Richards a winner in his own rights
World Championship bronze medallist O’Dayne Richards is expecting a significant improvement to his performances ahead of the 2016 Olympics.
Richards made the declaration after being named runner-up to the Sportsman of the Year for a second consecutive time at the RJR Sports Foundation Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year Gala Awards at Jamaica on Pegasus Friday night.
The 27-year-old also finished as runner-up to boxer Nicholas ‘Axeman’ Walters in 2014, and was once again second-best, this time to triple World and Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt.
The five-nominee list also included another thrower Fredrick Dacres, sprint hurdler Hansle Parchment and 200m star Rasheed Dwyer.
Richards, whose propensity for throwing or flinging things, has propelled him into one of the best shot-putters in the world, and won Jamaica’s first shot put medal at a World Championships, and in the process, equalled his own national record of 21.69m.
The powerful thrower might not have won the top award, but he believes he is a winner in his own rights.
“It has been a rough year; a bit of a disappointment, a bit of excitement and celebration. I did not get the personal best that I wanted, but I got a medal. So I have to give God thanks and learn to go through the rough times and giving God the glory all the time,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
“I am happy for the award because it is always good to come up and compete with the best in the sporting world like Usain Bolt and the rest of the guys, and hopefully I can do it better next year,” the 5ft 10in athlete added.
Richards created history by becoming Jamaica’s first gold medallist in the shot put at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and followed up with an equally-impressive showing when he copped bronze at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, last year.
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.
Only two throwers in Kovacs and Storl have thrown farther than Richards in 2015, both going over the 22-metre 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, 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.
Richards also has a personal best of 58.31 metres in the discus, but his main focus remains on the shot put where he is aiming to throw even farther.
“I am hoping to get the goal that I set last year which is to improve. Based on training numbers, I am way ahead of where I was before, surprisingly so. But it is still a long season and still some way to go.
“It is always my goal to improve and I am definitely determined to do so and better my performances from last year,” he noted.