Chang eyes spot on World Champs team this year
SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — After winning the gold medal at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Under-20 championships in Tampere, Finland, last July, Calabar High’s Kai Chang has set the bar very high this year and has his eyes fixed on making the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships set for Doha, Qatar, in late September.
Chang, who turned 19 years old earlier last week, has a personal best of 57.66m with the senior discus (2.00kg) and would have to throw at least 65.00m to get the qualifying mark by September 6 to get his name on the list.
“I’m now looking past (ISSA) Boys’ Champs, Penn Relays, PanAm Juniors and NACAC U23,” he told the Jamaica Observer after breaking the meet record at the recent STETHS/Wata Invitational in Santa Cruz.
“I really want to qualify for the World Championships this year — that is my aim, my personal objective. It is a high goal and some say it is far-fetched, but I think I can get there.”
Chang threw a personal best 62.36m to win a shock gold medal in Tampere last year, joining training partner Fedric Dacres as the only Jamaican men to achieve the feat. But he hungers for more success.
The long season last year, he said, resulted in a slow start to the 2019 season. “I had some issues at the start, some little niggles and injuries after a long 2018 season and we had to overcome them. But it’s at the point where I am getting better and I am getting faster in the ring.”
Speed across the throwing circle is where he said he needs to improve in the discus throw. “As a tall man I am throwing slow, and that is not a good thing — and so I am trying to increase my speed.”
Chang threw 58.66m to win the Class One event at STETHS, beating the previous mark of 51.50m set last year by Petersfield High’s Daniel Cope on all of his five legal throws. And while he said he had a good day, he said his unfamiliarity with the ring threw off his rhythm.
The many scholarship offers from US colleges started coming in from last year, he said, and while he has gone on some official visits to some campuses, it is way too early to make a decision. “I have good options, and that is always a good thing,” he declared.
