After scoring medals on September 28, 29 and 30, Jamaica’s team to the 2019 World Championships had to wait until October 3 to add to its tally. The wait was worth it as Danniel Thomas-Dodd produced a landmark performance in the shot put and Shericka Jackson returned to the podium in the 400 metres.

Both arrived in Doha as Pan-American Games gold medal winners, with Thomas-Dodd extending her national record to 19.55 metres. In 2017, Thomas-Dodd was third until the final round. This time around, she spun her third throw to 19.36 metres to narrow the gap to defending champion Lijiao Gong of China to just 6 centimetres.

Then came the fireworks. The formidable Chinese boomed a 19.55 metre fourth effort and Thomas-Dodd set her sights on that distance in round five. She spun quickly across the circle and launched a throw that landed just beyond the 20 metre line. Sadly a red flag drew her celebrations to a halt. She had to be content with the silver and a final effort of 19.47 metres.

Nevertheless, the Frome, Edwin Allen and Kent State University product had done something no Jamaican woman achieved before, with a medal in a throwing event at the global level.

Jackson had won bronze medals at the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Olympics. However, she missed the podium in 2017. The MVP Track Club ace was back on target in Doha, running strongly to third place with a personal best of 49.47 seconds.

She had peaked perfectly, having run 49.78 seconds to win the National Senior Championships. Her smartly paced run in Doha moved her into third on the all-time Jamaica 400 metre performance list and, at the same time, secured the nation’s 10th medal in the one-lap event at the World Championships.

Together, Thomas-Dodd and Jackson got the Jamaica medal train rolling again in Doha.