SANTIAGO, Chile – Having competed in a World Athletics Championships final and now claiming a bronze medal at the Pan American (Pan Am) Games on Monday, discus thrower Samantha Hall says she is thankful for how her season has ended.

Hall was third in the women’s final, with a throw of 59.14m, behind Brazil’s Izabela Rodrigues, who won gold with a throw of 59.63m, and Andressa Oliveira, also of Brazil, who took the silver medal with a distance of 59.29m.

This is Hall’s first medal for Jamaica at this level.

“I was really hoping to get the silver or the gold, but nonetheless, I’m thankful for the 59m, since it’s later down in the season,” she told the Jamaica Observer. “I’m really happy.”

Hall says this puts her in the right frame of mind as she prepares to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games next summer. She will need to throw the discus 64.50m to qualify, meaning she will have to surpass her personal best of 62.94m thrown in 2021. But she says qualifying is not a matter of if, but when.

“It gives me great confidence that I’ll qualify for the Olympics,” she said. “I’m looking to continue my preparation and continue chasing the mark.”

Hall credits Marlon Gayle, the team’s head coach at the Pan Am Games, for getting her ready for the event.

“He sharpened my technique to get me to that bronze medal,” she said.

She claimed Jamaica’s first athletics medal at the Pan Am Games and its second bronze overall.

Adrienne Adams also took part in the event and was pleased with her distance of 55.55m, which placed her eighth, in spite of her issues with an injured back this season.

Fellow discus thrower Fedrick Dacres secured Jamaica’s third bronze. He had a mark of 61.25m behind gold medallist Lucas Nervi of Chile (63.39m), and Mauricio Alexander Ortega of Colombia (61.86m). Dacres’ teammate Kai Chang was sixth at 59.96m.

Being the defending champion heading into the event, Dacres is disappointed with how things went, especially as he and Chang had difficulty getting to the stadium.

“We had a raw deal,” he said. “Let’s just say we had a rough time with the schedule. We got here about five or seven minutes before the start. We were shut out of the call room, so we had to do a lot of running around. So, basically, we got into the competition when everyone was warm.

“But we don’t make excuses, we make progress. It is what it is. Unfortunately, mi knee kinda hold mi today, but ah just time. It was just a bad day, can’t complain.”

Dacres, who entered the mixed zone with his knee wrapped in ice, says this in no way affects his preparation for next season.

“This was really just to come and support Jamaica, so it’s really nothing, but it is something, if you know what I mean,” he said.

Jamaica also competed in the 100m sprints on the day.

Mickaell Moodie was involved in heat one of the women’s 100m event. She was eighth, clocking 11.86 seconds. That race was won by Mexico’s Cecilia Tamayo (11.66s), while Liranyi Arislayne Alonso of the Dominican Republic’s (DR) was second in 11.69s, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Reyare Mary Thomas was third in 11.69s.

On the men’s side, Odaine McPherson ran 10.37s to place fourth in heat one behind DR’s Jose Alnardo Gonzales (10.30s), Brazil’s Felipe Bardi (10.33s), and Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald 10.35s. McPherson advanced to the final as a non-automatic qualifier with Archibald.

Jamaica’s Jevaughn Whyte was fourth in heat two, clocking 10.52s, but it was not enough to get into the final.

Brazil’s Erik Felipe Barbosa won in 10.43s, ahead of Puerto Rico’s Diego Andre Gonzalez (10.50s), and Canada’s Norris Spike (10.51s).

McPherson will be Jamaica’s only competitor Tuesday, running out of lane eight in the men’s 100m final at 9:03 pm local time, 7:03 pm Jamaica time.