Morgan still hoping to be named to Rio team
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jason Morgan thinks his name was mistakenly left off the list of 59 athletes chosen to participate in the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, next month.
Morgan, who competed at the 2012 Games in London and was third in the Commonwealth Games in Scotland in 2014, told OBSERVER ONLINE earlier today: “I am not worried. I believe they just overlooked my name. And there is no reason for me to not be on that team. I throw the standard and I competed at trials.
“I don’t see no reason for me not to be on the Jamaica Olympic team if I meet all the qualifications”.
Fedrick Dacres, who is the fourth-ranked thrower in the world, is the only male discus thrower named on the provisional list by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA).
However, Morgan said he is trusting God.
“I trust God will work it out for me to be on that team. I work too hard honestly and I have shown the world that,” he said.
Morgan qualified for the Olympics after he threw a National Record 68.19m last year and was the World Leader for most of the year, finishing second on the IAAF list at the end of 2015.
Morgan, who has a season’s best of 63.11m — which is good for 60th in the world — finished fourth at the JAAA National Senior Trials with 59.08m.
Dacres won the event at trials, beating Chad Wright with Traves Smikle third and Morgan off the podium — a mirror image of the top four Jamaicans on the IAAF list.
Paul Reid