JAMAICAN discus thrower Traves Smikle is excited about a three-meet stint in California next week where he hopes to attain the Olympic ‘A’ qualifying standard of 65.00 metres.

The trip, which is being sponsored by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), will see the 19-year-old left-hander competing against world-class athletes on April 26th, 28th and 29th before returning home on April 30.

The former Calabar High athlete will compete at the US Olympic Training Centre on the campus of the University of California-San Diego on April 26th and 28th, and then at the University of California-Irvine on April 29th.

Smikle, who has attained the Olympic ‘B’ standard after throwing a personal best 63.75m earlier this year, is seeking to join Jason Morgan at the London Games later this year after the latter achieved the coveted ‘A’ qualifying standard when he threw 65.61m at a meet in Louisiana two weeks ago, a new national record.

“This trip is a good thing for me,” Smikle told the Sunday Observer yesterday. “The level of competition I will have is way better than I can get here right now and this will push me as I will be testing myself against throwers who are of a higher level than I am.”

While he said the ‘A’ qualifying standard was the main aim on the trip, he added that “anything else will be ‘brawta’ as the Olympic qualifying is the only thing right now”.

Smikle, a 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships bronze medallists, the first Jamaican to win a medal in the throwing events at a global meet, had an outstanding 2011 where he won both the Junior and Senior National titles after setting a new Class One record at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ Champs record of 66.88m, then going on to win at both the CARIFTA Games and Pan-Am Juniors.

In California, he says, he will be going up against throwers from the Netherlands and Hungary who have consistently thrown over 65.00m and up to 71.00.

He told the Sunday Observer he is presently working on his “strength, technique and conditioning” and was coming off a “good session on Thursday”.

Smikle said coach Julian Robinson had advised him stay loose and just execute his techniques and he would get the desired results.