Jamaica’s powerhouse discus thrower Fedrick Dacres is big and strong, but more importantly he is physically and mentally ready to rub shoulders with the best in the world at the Olympics.

Dacres will be the first Jamaican track and field athlete in action on Friday as he contests the men’s discus at 7:30 am, and the former Calabar standout is ready and raring to go.

“Physically, I feel OK, no real troubles. I have a slight shoulder pain, but that’s nothing really to talk about. But physically I am OK; mentally, I am fine leading up to the games and hopefully I can do something there,” Dacres told the

Jamaica Observer.

Having won discus gold at every youth level, Dacres is Jamaica’s most decorated discus thrower. He won gold at the Carifta Games in 2010 and 2012; IAAF World Youth Championships in 2011; IAAF World Junior title in 2012, along with the Central America and the Caribbean Junior Games; and his only senior gold is at the Pan American Games in 2015.

He went to the IAAF World Championships last year and made the final, and now he can’t wait for the action to begin.

“I just want good competition, and hopefully I will be at my best at competition so I can put up a decent fight,” said Dacres, who said he gained invaluable experience at the 2015 World Championships.

“I think I went about it well last year. I was just doing so many things and it kind of threw me off. So this year I made precautions to kind of ease that and avert myself from that situation. So hopefully it will work when I’m ready to compete,” he noted.

With his coach Julian Robinson predicting that all of Jamaica’s seven throwers can make the final and a few will medal, Dacres said he came to the Olympics with nothing else on his mind.

“That’s why we are here. I am a very ambitious young lad, so I just want to go out there and do well for myself and my country,” said Dacres.

“In this game, anyone can win. You just need one throw,” he pointed out.

— Howard Walker