Dacres ready for Commonwealth gold
Confident that he is in the form of his life, national discus record holder Fedrick Dacres disregarded his recordbreaking effort at the King of Ring development meet at Excelsior High School last month, after it was revealed that the weight of the disc used was slightly lower than the required 2kg.
Now that the former Calabar High School standout has been selected to represent Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games next month in Australia, he is not only looking to erase his current national record of 68.88m, but also to win his first Commonwealth Games title.
“I feel like I am in the shape of my life and it can be done,” Dacres said of throwing the record.
Dacres’ distance of 68.08m done in January is currently the farthest throw in the world, with his teammate, Travis Smikle, in second with 67.72m.
“If I perform at my best, I believe I will win, because it would be nice to have a title like that behind my name,” Dacres, who missed the last Commonwealth Games because of a back injury, said.
Last year, Dacres was tipped to secure a medal at the IAAF World Championships in London, but finished just outside of the medals.
He has won two world titles as junior, at the World Under-18 championships in 2011 and the World Under-20 championships in 2012.
The three time national champion is also the Pan American champion in the event.
At the King of Ring meet, Dacres threw 69.83m, which would have bettered the national record. However, before the Jamaica Athletic Administration Association (JAAA) made any attempt to ratify the record, he took to social media to declare that the mark he recorded last year stands as the national record.