Jamaica lands three podium finishes as Campbell leads Rovereto charge

Rajindra Campbell found one more reason to celebrate before bringing the curtain down on the finest season of his professional career.

Just days after becoming the first Jamaican to throw beyond 23 meters and claim the Wanda Diamond League title in Brussels, Campbell returned to competition in Rovereto, Italy, and produced another winning performance.

The Olympic bronze medalist threw 22.17 meters to win the men’s shot put at the Palio Città della Quercia, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, while breaking the three-year-old meet record of 21.88m established by Italy’s Zane Weir.

Campbell’s latest victory was the centerpiece of a strong Jamaican showing that produced three podium finishes at the meeting.

Campbell keeps the momentum rolling

Campbell entered Rovereto carrying the confidence of a season in which he had repeatedly established himself among the world’s elite.

His 23.08m throw at the Diamond League Final in Brussels on Saturday had not only secured the Diamond Trophy but also rewritten the Jamaican national record and briefly placed him at the top of the world performance list.

There was no sign of a letdown in Italy.

Campbell’s 22.17m was enough to defeat American Payton Otterdahl, who finished second with 21.81m, while home favorite Weir settled for third at 21.17m.

For Campbell, it was another victory added to a season that has already transformed his status in Jamaican athletics.

Beckford adds another Jamaican podium

Romaine Beckford ensured Campbell was not the only Jamaican making an impression in the field events.

The Commonwealth Games champion cleared 2.22m to share second place in the men’s high jump with Japan’s Tomohiro Shinno.

Italy’s Manuel Lando took the title after clearing 2.25m, his season-best mark.

Another Jamaican, two-time World Athletics Indoor bronze medalist Raymond Richards, finished sixth at 2.16m.

The result gave Beckford another international podium and strengthened Jamaica’s presence across the field events in Rovereto.

Dockery finishes strong in the 100m

Jamaica’s third podium came on the track, where Sabrina Dockery ran 11.25 seconds to take third in the women’s 100 meters.

American Gabrielle Thomas won the race in 11.02 seconds, while former Jamaican Christania Williams, now competing for Austria, finished second in 11.18 seconds.

Dockery’s podium completed Jamaica’s three-medal haul at the meeting.

Kadrian Goldson was Jamaica’s leading finisher in the men’s 100m, placing fourth in 10.12 seconds with a 0.5 meters-per-second tailwind.

South Africa’s Bayanda Walaza dominated the event, winning in a meeting-record 9.91 seconds. Ghana’s Abdul Rasheed Saminu was second in 10.01 seconds, with Canada’s Eliezer Adjibi third in 10.09 seconds.

Walaza’s winning time surpassed the previous meeting record of 9.98 seconds set by American Marvin Bracey in 2021.

Kirani James adds a Caribbean highlight

The meeting also produced a notable Caribbean performance in the men’s 400m, where Grenada’s former world and Olympic champion Kirani James clocked 45.11 seconds for third.

Canada’s Cristo Morales Williams won in 44.64 seconds, while Belgium’s Daniel Segers was second in 45.04 seconds.

A fitting finish to Campbell’s breakthrough year

For Campbell, however, Rovereto was always going to be about more than one more victory.

The 22.17m effort provided the final exclamation point on a season in which the Jamaican has moved from elite contender to Diamond League champion and national-record holder.

Only days after producing the biggest throw of his career in Brussels, Campbell returned to the circle and established himself as the standard once again, this time by taking down a longstanding meeting record.

His season may now be over, but the message from Rovereto was unmistakable.

Campbell is no longer simply chasing the world’s best. He has become one of them.