Shadae Lawrence shatters national record twice at USATF Throws Festival in Arizona

By May 23, 2021

Shadae Lawrence, Jamaica women’s national record holder in the discus, shattered the record twice on her way to a second-place finish at the USATF Throws Festival at the University of Arizona on Saturday evening.

The 25-year-old Lawrence, who set the national record of 65.05m in May 2019, while she was a student at Colorado State University, uncorked throws of 65.47m and then 67.05m on her fourth and fifth throws, respectively, of the competition.

Notwithstanding the world-class throws, she was beaten by Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands, who produced a world-leading 70.22 in snatching victory.

Kelsey Card of the United States was the other podium finisher having thrown 63.18m.

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s men’s record holder, Fedrick Dacres was also second with her best effort of 65.20m.

Dacres, the 2019 World Championship silver medalist, who had undergone surgery on his wrist in November 2020, only managed throws of 65m twice and was beaten by Samoa’s Alex Rose, who produced a winning mark of 67.48m.

Brian Williams of the USA was third with 62.96m.

Dacres, the 2019 Pan American champion, won at the 2021 Tucson Elite Classic two days before with his season-best throw of 65.96m, saying afterwards he was not satisfied but thankful for the victory as he attempts to get back to his best in time for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Dacres has a lifetime best of 70.78m.

Leighton Levy

Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.

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