O’Dayne Richards of Jamaica brought home the first medal for Jamaica at the fourth staging of the North American, Central American and Caribbean American Athletics Association (NACAC) Championships, which were held in Freeport in The Bahamas on August 19, 2022.

Richards, who is the national senior records holder, won a bronze medal in the men’s shot put event on the opening day of the competition. He finished in third place with a throw of 20.05 meters and won Jamaican’s only medal for that day. Samantha Hall of Jamaica took fifth place in the women’s discus with a throw of 57.70 meters.

O’Dayne Valentin Richards, 33, was born in 1988 in St. Andrew, Jamaica, and attended the University of Technology. In June 2022, Richards won his ninth national title, winning first place in the men’s shot put with a throw of 19.58 meters on the last day of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Senior Championships held at National Stadium in Kingston. At that time, he had a season’s best throw of 19.91 meters, which he set in Puerto Rico in May.

Richards has represented Jamaica in the shot put at the World Championships in Beijing in 2014 where he took third place; the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 where he won a gold medal; the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015 where he also won gold; the NACAC Championships in 2022 in Freeport and in 2018 in Toronto, winning bronze both times; Central American and Caribbean Games in 2018 in Barranquilla where he took home the gold medal and in 2010 in Mayaguez where he won silver; and the CAC Championships in 2011 in Mayaguez and 2013 in Morelia, where he won gold medals both times.

He scored personal bests in the outdoor shot put in Rabat in 2017 with a throw of 21.96 meters and had an outdoor discus throw of 58.31 meters in Kingston in 2012. He also scored a personal best in the indoor shot put in 2018 in Birmingham with a throw of 19.93 meters.

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