When an athlete makes history for their country in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the Olympic Games, the typical reaction from that country is some sort of acknowledgement or celebration of that historic performance.

Unfortunately, this has yet to be the case for Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell.

Campbell became the first Jamaican man to ever medal in a throwing event at an Olympic Games when he threw 22.15m to win bronze in Paris on August 3.

Four days after Campbell’s performance, Roje Stona also made history, throwing a personal best 70.00m for gold in the discus, becoming Jamaica’s first ever Olympic champion in a throwing event.

In the latest episode of SportsMax TV’s Out D Blocks hosted by Leighton Levy and D Major, the 28-year-old national record holder spoke candidly about the lack of acknowledgment and appreciation back home for these historic achievements.

“We have talked about it. The only problem is, as what Omar McLeod mentioned at trials about the 2016 Olympics, we don’t feel the appreciation from Jamaica,” Campbell said, referencing Omar McLeod’s comments after the Olympic trials where he spoke about not feeling appreciated by Jamaica after his Olympic gold medal performance eight years ago.

“You see the kind of celebration Julien Alfred got? I’m not expecting the same here but Jamaica has such a rich history in track and field, I don’t think the athletes are really appreciated for what they do,” he added.

Campbell, born in Ocho Rios, moved to Joplin, Missouri in 2018 to attend Missouri Southern State University where he attended for three years.

He noted that he’s received more of a celebration for his achievement in Joplin than back home in Jamaica.

“I met with the school President on Wednesday of last week and he explained certain things they have in store for me and there is a big sign on campus that people come in and see. It’s a different celebration taking place here compared to Jamaica,” he said.

As Campbell noted, whenever a Jamaican is in an event, Jamaicans expect them to do well. He wonders whether more appreciation would be given to the athletes when they do well if people understood the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.

“The love for Jamaica will never die. We will always continue to represent but, at the same time, the amount of sacrifice it takes to get to the level we are, something that I’ve found is once there is a Jamaican in an event, you’re expected to do well. How do we get there?”

“When you actually get there it’s like ‘Oh! I expected it or I knew you could do it.’ At the same time, there’s a journey that nobody really understands,” he continued.

He added that there has been no communication to him or Stona regarding any sort of celebration or acknowledgement in Jamaica.

Out D Blocks can be seen live every Thursday on the SportsMax TV YouTube channel.

Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell made more history at the Ivan Ivancic Memorial in Zagreb on Saturday.

The 28-year-old, who became the first Jamaican to medal in a throws event at the Olympic Games with his bronze medal in Paris, established a new national record of 22.31m to finish third at Saturday’s meet behind American Olympic and World champion and world record holder Ryan Crouser who threw a meet record 22.93m to win and Payton Otterdahl who threw 22.46m in second.

Campbell opened his competition with 21.05m before going down to 20.61m in the second round.

He then signaled his intent for a big throw with 21.56m in round three before unleashing his national record-breaking throw in round four.

He fouled his next two attempts which didn’t matter as no one else was able to eclipse his mark.

Campbell broke his own previous national record 22.22m done in Madrid last year.

Two of the medal favorites in the Women’s 100m at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, Jamaica’s Alana Reid and BVI’s Adaejah Hodge, both successfully advanced from the heats on Tuesday’s opening day of the youth track and field showcase.

Hodge was first up, competing in the first heat alongside Caribbean counterpart Kishawna Niles from Barbados.

As expected, Hodge cruised to 11.45, the fastest time in the heats, to win ahead of Niles who will also be in the semifinals after running 11.63 in second.

Reid, Jamaica’s national junior 100m record holder, was up next in the third heat.

The former Hydel High standout, who represented her country in the Women’s 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics recently, ran a comfortable 11.46 to win her heat.

Dominican Republic’s Liranyi Alonso (11.77) and Puerto Rico’s Frances Colon (11.83) also booked spots in the semi-finals.

On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Gary Card and Deandre Daley secured safe passage through to the semifinals.

Card, who has a personal and season’s best of 10.07 which he did to defeat Daley at the JAAA National Junior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June, eased to a time of 10.40 to win the fifth heat.

Daley, a 10.08 performer at his best, recovered from a stumble at the start of his race to cruise home in 10.37 to win heat six.

Bahamian Carlos Brown Jr (10.48) also made it through to the semis scheduled for later on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Jamaica’s quartet of Demarco Bennett, Nastassia Fletcher, Marcinho Rose and Alliah Baker advanced to the final of the Mixed 4x400m relay with a time of 3:24.77 to finish second in their heat behind Germany who won in 3:24.10.

In the field, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 19.53m to advance to the final of the Men’s shot put.

In the triple jump, Jamaica’s Chavez Penn barely booked a spot in the final, jumping 15.32m to take the twelfth and final spot, finishing just two centimeters ahead of Colombia’s Santiago Theran.

Trinidad & Tobago's Janae De Gannes produced 6.03m to advance to the final of the women's long jump.

Day 8 of Track and Field at the 2024 Paris Olympics was a day of mixed emotions for Caribbean athletes, highlighted by a standout performance from Jamaica's women in the 4x100m relay. As the morning session unfolded, the Jamaican quartet delivered a strong run to secure their place in the finals, a beacon of hope on an otherwise challenging day for the region.

The Jamaican team, comprised of Alana Reid, Kemba Nelson, Shashalee Forbes, and Tia Clayton finished third in their heat with a season-best time of 42.35 seconds, which placed them sixth overall and earned them a coveted spot in the finals.

In stark contrast, Trinidad and Tobago’s women’s relay team faced disappointment. Despite their best efforts, they finished eighth in their heat with a time of 43.99 seconds, which was not enough to advance to the finals. The team, consisting of Akilah Lewis, Sole Frederick, Sanaa Frederick, and Leah Bertrand, gave it their all but ultimately fell short.

The men’s 4x100m relay saw similar heartbreak for Jamaica. The team, made up of Ackeem Blake, Jelani Walker, Jehlani Gordon, and Kishane Thompson, ran a season-best time of 38.45 seconds but finished fourth in their heat and 11th overall, failing to make it to the finals. It was a bitter pill to swallow as they had high hopes for a strong finish.

Elsewhere, the Caribbean faced tough outcomes in other events.

In the women's shot put, Jamaica's Danniel Thomas-Dodd and Lloydricia Cameron, along with Trinidad & Tobago's Portious Warren, did not advance past the qualification round. Thomas-Dodd threw 18.12m, Cameron achieved a season-best of 18.02m, and Warren managed 17.22m. Their efforts were valiant but fell short of the 19.15m qualification standard, ending their Olympic journeys in this event.

The women's 100m hurdles also saw Caribbean athletes falling short. Emelia Chatfield of Haiti and Denisha Cartwright of the Bahamas competed fiercely but did not make it past the repechage round. Chatfield finished sixth in her heat with a time of 13.24 seconds, while Cartwright was seventh, clocking 13.45 seconds. Despite their strong performances, they were unable to advance to the semifinals.

In the men's 800m, St Vincent and the Grenadines' Handal Roban, Jamaica’s Navasky Anderson, and Dominica’s Dennick Luke all faced similar fates in the repechage round. Roban finished fourth with a time of 1:45.80, Anderson fifth in his heat with 1:46.01, and Luke set a national record of 1:46.81 but finished sixth in his heat. None of these times were sufficient to move on to the semifinals, marking the end of their Olympic campaigns in this event.

Despite producing only two legal throws, national record holder Rajindra Campbell made history in the Men’s shot put final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, becoming the first Jamaican man to win an Olympic medal in a throwing event.

The 28-year-old began Saturday’s final at the Stade de France with a 20.00m in the first round before producing a brilliant 22.15m in the second round to move into second behind American World record holder and back-to-back Olympic champion Ryan Crouser who was leading with 22.69m.

In rainy conditions, Campbell was in the silver medal position before the sixth round when American Joe Kovacs produced 22.15m to move into second by virtue of his second-best throw, 21.71m, being better than Campbell’s.

The Jamaican had a throw in the sixth round that would’ve seen him reclaim silver had it not been a fourth foul in a row.

In the end, Campbell settled for bronze behind the two Americans. Crouser’s final winning distance was a season’s best 22.90m.

Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell successfully made it through to the final of the men’s shot put on day two of Athletics competition at the Paris Olympics in the Stade de France on Friday.

Campbell, competing in the first qualifying group, produced only one legal throw measuring 21.05m which was good enough 10^th overall in qualifying among the two groups.

The 28-year-old has a season’s best 22.16m done at the Madrid World Continental Indoor tour meet in February.

Campbell is also currently Jamaica’s national record holder with his 22.22m done in Madrid in 2023.

Italian Leonardo Fabri led all qualifiers to the final in Paris with 21.76 with Czechia's Tomas Stanek (21.61m), Americans Payton Otterdahl (21.52m), World record holder Ryan Crouser (21.49m) and New Zealand's Tom Walsh (21.48m) and Jacko Gill (21.35m) rounding out the top six.

Also joining Campbell in the final will be USA's Joe Kovacs (21.24m), Mexico's Uziel Munoz (21.22m), Nigeria's Cornnell Enekwechi (21.13m), Italy's Zane Weir (21.00m) and Norway's Marcus Thomsen (20.81m).

2019 World Championship silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd secured her ninth national title in the shot put on day three of the JAAA National Senior and Junior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games champion produced a season’s best 19.32m to win ahead of Lloydricia Cameron (17.62m) and Danielle Sloley (13.55m).

Thomas-Dodd will be heading to her third Olympic Games.

The 31-year-old failed to make it out of the qualifying round in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021 and is hoping to go further in Paris.

“The number one aim is to make it to the finals and give myself a fair chance of putting together something nice,” she said.

“I know for sure it’s definitely going to take over 20m to get myself on the podium so my coach came to me and asked me to get 19.3 at the national championships. It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” she added.

Jamaicans Tarees Rhoden and Kimar Farquharson both advanced to the final of the men’s 800m on day one of the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Oregon on Wednesday.

Rhoden, a senior at Clemson, and Farquharson, a junior at Texas A&M, were both in the second of three semi-finals.

In the heat won by Farquharson’s teammate and current NCAA leader Sam Whitmarsh in 1:46.01, Rhoden ran 1:46.18 to be the second automatic qualifier for the final while Farquharson was third in 1:46.32 to advance as the fastest non-automatic qualifier.

Bahamian Florida junior Wanya McCoy ran 10.15 and 20.22 to advance to the finals of both the 100m and 200m.

Jamaican Florida senior Jevaughn Powell (45.17) and junior Reheem Hayles (45.59) both advanced to the final of the one lap event.

All those finals are set for Friday.

Elsewhere, in a massive upset, World Championship long jump silver medallist Wayne Pinnock’s best jump of 7.98m was only good enough for fifth in the men’s long jump.

USC sophomore JC Stevenson produced a personal best 8.22m to win ahead of Florida State senior Jeremiah Davis (8.07m) and Florida junior Malcolm Clemons (8.05m).

Clemson junior Courtney Lawrence threw a personal best 19.92m for fifth in the men’s shot put won by Ole Miss sophomore Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan in a personal best and collegiate-leading 20.88m.

Wisconsin’s Jason Swarens (20.38m) and South Carolina’s Dylan Taggart (20.23m) were second and third.

Bahamian national record holder and Auburn sophomore Keyshawn Strachan threw 74.95m for fifth in the men’s javelin.

Georgia’s Marc Minichello threw 80.70m to win ahead of Washington’s Chandler Ault (79.31m) and Miami’s Devoux Deysel (75.14m).

World Championship silver medallist Wayne Pinnock has officially booked his spot in the field for next month’s NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.

The 23-year-old Arkansas junior, who won gold at the 2022 NCAA Championships, produced 8.03m at the NCAA West First Round in Fayetteville on Wednesday to advance with the day’s second furthest jump behind USC’s Johnny Brackins who jumped a personal best 8.15m to advance.

Another Jamaican, Oklahoma junior Nikaoli Williams, produced a personal best 7.99 to book his spot in the 24-man field set to compete from June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Oregon.

Arizona State junior Brandon Lloyd threw 19.26m to secure qualification in the men’s shot put.

On the track, a number of Caribbean men booked spots in Friday’s quarterfinal round to determine who will make the trip to Oregon.

Trinidadian Minnesota junior Devin Augustine (10.28), Jamaican USC junior Travis Williams (10.30) and Jamaican Baylor sophomore Riquan Graham (10.32) all made it through to the quarterfinals of the men’s 100m.

Augustine also ran 20.66 to advance in the 200m.

The top 12 fastest men from Friday’s quarterfinals will advance to the NCAA Championships.

In the 400m, Jamaican Texas Tech sophomore Shaemar Uter (45.68), Jamaican Baylor senior Demar Francis (45.75) and Grenadian Arizona State senior Gamali Felix (45.90) advanced to the quarterfinals.

A pair of Jamaicans, Texas A&M junior Kimar Farquharson and Iowa junior Rivaldo Marshall, ran 1:47.72 and 1:48.31, respectively, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 800m.

Jamaican Arkansas senior Phillip Lemonious and UTEP junior Jordani Woodley advanced in the 110m hurdles with times of 13.38 and 13.41, respectively.

Lemonious is the defending NCAA champion.

The 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships is set for June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Bahamian Auburn University Tigers sophomore Keyshawn Strachan produced a best throw of 74.63m in the men’s javelin competition of the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round competition at the University of Kentucky Track & Field Complex in Lexington, Kentucky, on Wednesday.

With the throw, the CARIFTA Under-20 record holder advanced to the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the first time.

The 20-year-old finished third in the Wednesday’s competition, with all three of his throws (70.54m, 71.37m, 74.63m) surpassing 70m.

His personal best and Bahamian national record 84.27m was done at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in 2023 at the Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Wanya McCoy, a junior for the University of Florida Gators, moved on to the quarterfinals of the men’s 100 and 200m, winning his heats in 10.29 seconds and 20.34 seconds respectively.

He finished tied with the sixth fastest time going into the quarters in both events, and will have to finish among the top 12 to move on to the NCAA Championships.

McCoy was a runner-up in both the 100m and 200m at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Gainesville earlier this month.

Also advancing in the 100m were Caymanian two-time Carifta U-20 gold medallist Davonte Howell of Tennessee (10.35), Jamaica’s Jehlani Gordon of Georgia (10.41) and T&T’s Omari Lewis on Liberty (10.39).

Jamaican Florida State Seminoles sophomore Jordan Turner also advanced to the NCAA Championships after jumping 7.74m to finish fourth in the men’s long jump.

American Championship Conference (ACC) outdoor shot-put champion Courtney Lawrence of Clemson also booked his spot at the NCAA Championships with a throw of 19.61m to finish sixth.

Jamaican LSU sophomore, Jahiem Stern, ran 13.38 to lead all qualifiers to the quarterfinals in the men’s sprint hurdles set for Friday.

Clemson senior and ACC Outdoor champion Tarees Rhoden made it through to the quarterfinals in the men’s 800m with 1:47.89 to win his preliminary.

Jamaica’s Jevaughn Powell of Florida (45.85), D’Andre Anderson of Clemson (45.87), Reheem Hayles of Florida (45.99) made it through to the quarters in the men’s 400m.

The men’s 400m hurdles saw Bajan Tennessee senior Rasheeme Griffith (50.40) and Jamaican South Florida sophomore Devontie Archer (51.13) make progress.

The 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships is set for June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Jamaican Clemson junior Courtney Lawrence produced a personal best 19.75 to win shot put gold at the ACC Outdoor Championships in Atlanta on Friday.

The former Petersfield High standout and 2021 NACAC Under-23 champion produced three throws over 19m throughout his series to take the title ahead of Notre Dame’s Michael Schoaf (19.38m) and Wake Forest’s Thomas Kitchell (19.16m).

Jamaican Florida State sophomore Jordan Turner jumped 7.90m for second in the men’s long jump behind teammate Jeremiah Davis who jumped 7.97m for the win. Miami’s Russell Robinson was third with 7.82m.

Moving to the track where Lawrence’s schoolmate, Oneka Wilson, produced a personal best 13.00 to advance to the final of the women’s 100m hurdles as the fastest qualifier.

Another Jamaican Clemson standout, senior Tarees Rhoden, made it through to the final of the men's 800m with a 1:49.17 effort to finish second in his heat.

Jamaican hammer thrower Nayoka Clunis set a new national record with a 71.83m throw at the USATF Throws Festival at the University of Arizona on Saturday.

Clunis, who represented Jamaica at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, broke the previous national record of 71.48m set back in 2016 by Daina Levy.

The 28-year-old started her series on Saturday with a 69.51m effort in the first round before producing 71.13m, 70.01m, 70.20m and 70.38m in the next four rounds.

She then uncorked her national record-breaking throw in the sixth and final round, finishing sixth overall in the competition.

Her best throw prior to Saturday was 71.18m done in Canada last year.

American Brooke Andersen threw 79.92m to win and was followed by China’s Jie Zhao (74.10m) and American Annette Echikunwoke (73.80m).

Elsewhere, 2019 World Championship silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd threw 18.87m to win the women’s shot put ahead of Americans Adelaide Aquilla (18.47m) and Jessica Ramsey (18.34m).

Rajindra Campbell threw 21.69m for second in the men’s equivalent behind American Payton Otterdahl (22.41m). Mexico’s Uziel Munoz threw 21.68m for third.

The men’s discus throw saw 2019 World Championship runner-up Fedrick Dacres produce 64.07m for third behind the American pair Reggie Jagers (64.25m) and Joseph Brown (64.57m).

Jamaican Southern Miss junior Zayne Palomino secured his third win of the season in the high jump with victory at the Crimson Tide Invitational at the Sam Bailey Stadium in Alabama on Saturday.

Palomino entered the competition with a first-time clearance of 2.05m before clearing 2.10m on his second attempt.

He then needed three attempts to clear 2.14m before eventually clearing 2.17m, his winning height, on his second attempt. Palomino then had three unsuccessful efforts to clear 2.20m, his personal best which he did to win at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships on February 20.

Corvell Todd and Jacob Patten both cleared 2.10m for second and third.

Barton County Community College sophomore Christopher Young was also a winner on Saturday, producing 18.57m for top spot in the men’s shot put.

Memphis sophomore Sascha Schmidt threw 18.43m in second while Southern Miss sophomore Piers Cameron threw 17.95m for third.

On the track, Florida State sophomore Shenese Walker won the women’s 200m in 23.20 ahead of teammate Kaniya Johnson (23.62) and Southern Miss senior Kenia Seals (23.65).

Bahamian World Indoor Championships 60m hurdles silver medallist Devynne Charlton gave an early indicator into her form this season with a personal best and national record 7.75 to win at the Corky Classic at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday.

Charlton, who also took 100m hurdles silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, won ahead of Americans Tia Jones (7.80) and Masai Russell (7.88).

She also took the 60m hurdles at the UK Rod McCravy Memorial in Louisville in 7.88 on January 13.

Elsewhere on the track, Jamaican Texas Tech sophomore and former Wolmer’s Boys and Kingston College standout Shaemar Uter ran 46.04 for second in the men’s 400m behind Oklahoma senior Zarik Brown (46.03). Dubem Nwachukwu, running unattached, was third in 46.30.

In the field, Kentucky junior Luke Brown jumped 16.80m to win the men’s triple jump ahead of Miami’s Russell Robinson (16.59m) and Texas Tech’s Garison Breeding (15.82m).

Ralford Mullings threw 18.58m for top spot in the men’s shot put ahead of Baylor’s Gary Moore (18.20m) and Miami’s Milton Ingraham (18.07m).

The Wanda Diamond League has released a detailed summary of which disciplines will be staged at which meetings during the 2024 season.

In 2024, the world’s best athletes will once again take the stage in athletics’ premier one-day series, competing at 15 meetings across four different continents.

Athletes will compete for points in their chosen discipline at the 14 series meetings between April and September, with the most successful qualifying for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13th-14th.

The season begins in Xiamen on April 20th, with the men’s 100m, women’s 200m and a 100/110m hurdles double bill among the headline events. Each discipline will then be staged at least four and up to eight times on the Road to the Final, giving athletes from across the globe enough opportunities to earn points.

Two meetings will be held at a different location in 2024 due to stadium renovation works in their usual locations. The Meeting International Mohammed VI will move from Rabat to Marrakech, while the Wanda Diamond League Shanghai will take place in Suzhou.

The 14 series meetings will each take place in a two-hour TV world programme and will all stage at least 14 Diamond Disciplines. The Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels will be the only meeting to feature every single discipline, with all 32 Diamond League champions crowned over the course of two days.

The season calendar and the allocation of disciplines remain subject to change.

A list of disciplines for each meeting will also be available under the 'programme and results' page on each individual meeting website.

As well as the Diamond Disciplines, each meeting may also include additional disciplines in their programme, in which athletes will not earn points on the Road to the Final.

The disciplines are as follows: 100m (M,W), 200m (M,W), 400m (M,W), 800m (M,W), 1500m/Mile (M,W), 3000m/5000m (M,W), 3000m Steeplechase (M,W), 110m Hurdles (M), 100m Hurdles (W), 400m Hurdles (M,W), High Jump (M,W), Pole Vault (M,W), Long Jump (M,W), Triple Jump (M,W), Shot Put (M,W), Discus Throw (M,W), Javelin Throw (M,W).