Getting the qualifying distance for the men’s discus throw at the Olympic Games set for Paris in July-August was described as a “big deal” by Jamaica’s Ralford Mullings after his personal best 69.67m set on Saturday, the second-best by a Jamaican man.

The 21-year-old, who joins Traves Smikle as the Jamaicans with the qualifying mark so far, won the men’s discus throw at Saturday’s competition put on by Seal Throws Club at Throw Town Ramona at Millican Field in Oklahoma, USA.

The big throw came in the third round after Mullings opened with two fouls and also had throws of 61.11m and 62.24m. He told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday that, considering the conditions on the day and “how the throw felt, yes, I was surprised by the tape measure. I figure it was somewhere in the ball park of 65 metres but it clearly wasn’t.”

The throw was the best in the world for a few hours, bypassing Smikle’s 67.83m set earlier in March at GC Foster, until Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania threw a personal best 71.39m at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational on Saturday at Edwards Stadium later in the day.

“Qualifying for the Olympics is a big deal and I’m extremely happy to have gotten that hurdle out of the way,” Mullings said. “Now my mindset and preparation for trials has shifted and my coach [Andrew Ninow] and I are collaborating to be prepared for the Olympic trials.”

Given the improving depth of the Jamaican men’s throwing, the former Kingston College ISSA Champs gold medallist is not taking anything for granted come July. “Nothing is given so we’re still shooting to do our best when it matters.”

He will most likely be going up against not just Smikle but national record holder Fedrick Dacres, 2022 World Championships qualifier Chad Wright, and 2023 World Championships qualifier Roje Stona, among others, for one of the three spots on the plane to Paris.

Mullings, whose previous personal best was 65.39m set in April 2022 when he was a freshman at Arizona State University, threw 64.83m earlier this year and is set to return to competition this coming weekend at the same venue.

He is attending the University of Oklahoma but spent a year at the University of Arkansas after he left Arizona State. “I transferred to University of Arkansas after Arizona State University,” he said. “I enjoyed my year there with the training group I had, made a big step in my life to get married, which led me to the University of Oklahoma, and it has been great ever since.”

He was sixth on the Jamaican charts before Saturday and moved past Chad Wright, 66.54m; Smikle, 68.14m; former Jamaican national record holder Jason Morgan, 68.19m; and Roje Stona, 68.64m.