Former Calabar stand out athlete twenty-one year old University of Nebraska sophomore Chad Wright made history on Wednesday when he became the first Jamaican to win the discus event at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Wright triumphed throwing a personal best 62.79 metres at the Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Wright had a previous best of 62.18m achieved last month. Improving with every throw, Wright clinched the title on his penultimate fifth effort. The final one was a foul throw.
"(I didn't know I had won) until they told me the mark," Wright told the Huskers website.
"I knew it was going to go far because it felt nice leaving my hand, but then the crowd started to go crazy. It felt great, I was so happy, but I knew I had one more throw left so I had to stay focused.
"I believe I paid my respects to Coach Colligan doing this; I think he would be proud," added Wright, who recorded the 46th best throw in the world this year.
HIs new personal best was the longest in the Division One this year and second all-time in the Husker record books. The Big 10 Outdoor silver medallist noted that the 30-minute warm-up gave him confidence.
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