PHOTO OF THE DAY
Danniel Thomas-Dodd gets ready to register an attempt in the final of the women’s shot put at the World Indoor Championships at Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England, on yesterday. Thomas-Dodd threw a national indoor record 19.22m to win the silver medal.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND:
NEWLY CROWNED IAAF World Indoor Championships shot put silver medal winner Daniel Thomas-Dodd says that her performance in yesterday’s final at Arena Birmingham should served as a motivation for the younger athletes that they can become successful in the event if they work hard.
Thomas-D odd turned in a brilliant performance to capture her first global medal with a throw of 19.22m, improving on her own national indoor record.
The event was won by Hungary’s Anita Marton with a mark of 19.62m, while third went to China’s Lijiao Gong, who threw 19.08 metres.
Thomas-Dodd’s silver-medal performance was the first for the country in the event at the World Indoor Championships.
NOT JUST A SPRINT COUNTRY
She told The Gleaner shortly after the event that she was delighted with her performance.
“It feels good because it just goes to show that Jamaica is not just a sprint countr y,” said Thomas-Dodd.
“I think if any young athlete is listening right now, I think that this is something that they can look at and say, ‘She has done it!I really want to do something along the lines like she has done,’ and this is good motivation for the younger ones,” Thomas-Dodd said.
The 25-year-old Thomas-Dodd pointed out that the competition was a bit challenging, but she knew that she would have done well.
“To compete against these ladies, they are phenomenal and they are really good. I got beaten in the last outdoor season, and I was down a little bit, but that drove me to perform the way I really did this time around,” said Thomas-Dodd, who is set to compete at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
“I t will do a l ot for my confidence because even though I have got a medal, this doesn’t mean that I am going to relax and not work as hard as I have been working,” she said.
“I am not there yet, and so I am just going to keep doing the things I have been doing and even better, moving forward. I got a PR (personal best), and this is what I really wanted out of this competition, and so this goes to show that my background training is really paying off,” Thomas-Dodd stated.