Scott ready to let loose
LONDON, England — With this morning’s preliminary round out of the way and having qualified for tonight’s final of the men’s Olympic Games shot put, Jamaica’s Dorian Scott says he is ready to let loose and start Jamaica’s medal hunt at the 28th Games at Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London.
Scott, the national record holder (21.45m) and the first Jamaican to qualify for a final in a throwing event at the Olympics was 11th in qualifying with a best throw of 20.31m told reporters afterwards he was ready to let it all out.
“I can let loose tonight,” he said, “The hardest part (was) getting through the qualifying and just trying to make sure everything goes right and now I can let loose and compete fully and see where it goes from there,” adding “Making the finals, is just unbelievable.”
Scott who was Jamaica’s first competitor of 14 taking part today had a good series of 20.18m, 20.30m and 20.31m said he had no target in mind for tonight’s final, “I just want to keep improving and get some clean throws where I can fully let loose,” he said.
American Reese Hoffa leads with 21.36m followed by Germany’s David Storl- 21.15m and defending champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland who threw 21.03m.
Scott who ranked 16th in the world coming into the Olympics, took up a coaching position at San Diego State last year and is in his fourth competition this season said he had been taking things one step at a time.
First he said he had to make certain he kept his job by throwing himself fully into coaching; then he made the Olympic B qualifying standard 20.23m in Tallahasse, Florida in June.
Scott who said he was “kinda high off the qualifying” said he then went after the A standard which he got when he threw his season best 20.72m at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures National Trials, then “After that decided to go to the Olympics and enjoy myself.”
So far he said he has worked hard with the help of decathlete Maurice Smith who has acted as his coach, “And it was like let’s see if I can make the finals and here I am!”
Scott said his first reaction to making the final was “relief to be honest because I knew it was there and the whole time in my head thinking God I hope I don’t mess it up, I hope I don’t try too hard. so when I hit my first throw and it was 20.18m, usually that’s good enough as at the last Olympic 20.12m made it so that was more of a relief but I got hot at the end to go 20.30, 20.31,” he said but added “I still don’t feel like I touched one but I am feeling real nice right now.”