'Denied the privilege': Jamaican shot put athlete blasts own national body over lack of support
Shot put champion Danniel Thomas-Dodd will leave Paris feeling defeated after her quest for Olympic gold was hindered by a lack of support from the Jamaican Olympic Association and the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association.
The Jamaican athlete, who had high hopes for her Olympic campaign, was unable to advance to the next stage of the women's shot put on Thursday.
She told SportsMax that the denial of a credential for her coach played a significant role in her disappointing performance.
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Danniel Thomas-Dodd, of Jamaica, competes during the women's shot put qualification. AP
The 31-year-old said it had been a tough two-and-a-half weeks without her coach by her side.
"The qualification was in my reach," she told SportsMax.
"It's been really frustrating to compete and not make the finals, this time around I felt like was easy for me to do.
"However I don't have my coach here and I have been in the village for two-and-a-half weeks. I was denied the privilege... 365 days of training has just gone down the drain because I don't have my coach.
"It's very frustrating. This is something that I'm more than capable of obtaining and I came up short today."
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Danniel Thomas-Dodd is frustrated. AP
Thomas-Dodd, who won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, criticised the Jamaican Olympic Association and the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association for their lack of support for field events.
"These people don't care about field events in Jamaica because if they did, they would make sure we had everything that we need to make us comfortable," she said.
"My coach is a part of my training process and I didn't have him for two-and-a-half weeks.
"That's the irony of it. The gold medal that they were sitting down waiting for did not come from the track. It came from the field events.
"And those are the events that they neglect so much in Jamaica and most of medals we have won so far at these Games come from the field events and we are the most marginalised groups in Jamaican track and field.
"It's time for them to stop and really reflect on what they are doing to us as athletes."
Thomas-Dodd said she would take time to reassess her next career move.
"I can't do this anymore," she said.
