Paris 2024 Olympics: Rajindra Campbell, who gave up cricket for track cycling, wins Jamaica's first shot put medal

Like many Jamaicans, cricket was Rajindra Campbell's first love growing up, but he gave it up to focus on athletics. Jamaica would thank him for it.

On Saturday night at the Stade de France, the 28-year-old made history when he became the first man from the sprinting powerhouse to win an Olympic medal, taking bronze in the shot put. Rajindra's medal is one of two for Jamaica at the 2024 Olympics so far, when Shanieka Ricketts took silver in the women's triple jump. Earlier, Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce unexpectedly withdrew from the 100m.

Rajindra was in second place until the very last throw of the competition, when American Joe Kovacs equalled the Jamaican's best throw with 22.15 metres and went on to win on countback.

While Jamaica has a tradition of excellence in sprint events and, more recently, jumps, success in throws is relatively uncommon. That's not the only unusual thing about Rajindra.

READ | Dominicas LaFond wins Olympic gold in women's triple jump

It’s a bit unusual to have a name like Rajindra. It’s mostly people from India and the Caribbean who have that name. But my father was a big fan of this West Indian cricketer from the 90s with that name (leg-spinner Rajindra Dhanraj). So that’s what he named me, he says.

A father’s passion was initially passed on to his son. I grew up idolizing the West Indians. Like everyone else, I wanted to be like Chris Gayle. I played at the community and school level and I think I was pretty good, he tells Sportstar.

It wasn’t until he got to high school that Rajindra finally decided to switch to athletics. “I played a lot of cricket in primary school and high school, but after a while I went to Ferncourt High School in Kingston. They didn’t have a cricket program and, you know, a teenage boy with a lot of energy has to be somewhere to put that energy. So I went into athletics,” he says.

Rajindra says he didn’t have much speed, but soon found he had enough power. He eventually got a scholarship to Missouri Southern State College in the US and competed in the 2020 NCAA championships. Cricket grew even more distant. Unfortunately, I live in the US, so I don’t have much of a chance to play. I met an Indian guy in the Kansas City area and he asked me if I knew a place where I could play. But it’s a small town. And I had also started specializing in my event. It’s difficult to get into other sports and play other sports at the same time, he says.

Even now, Rajindra thinks he would have been a good cricketer. I was batting in the middle order, and I can tell you, no bowler wanted to bowl to me. It was pretty much game over once I got going. I was really intense. I didn’t really like bowling, but I was a very good fielder. I could field at silly point or even long off if I had to. I can throw very well from the outfield, and I can catch very well. I have pretty good hands, as you can imagine as a shot putter, he says.

But even as Rajindra decided to focus on his shot-puttering career, he would be the first to admit that it is difficult to earn a living while competing as a shot-putter, unlike many other cricketers in his home country. His own career has taken time to develop; he only won his first Jamaican national championship last year and is still an unsponsored athlete. To make ends meet, Rajindra works at a Domino’s pizza outlet in the US. It’s not something he’s ashamed of. In athletics in Jamaica, it’s the sprinters who really take centre stage. “Early in my career, I was just someone who did the team’s numbers. That meant I didn’t have a lot of money to play my sport. (Working at a pizza shop) is just something I have to do. Everyone in the shop knows why I work there too. So it’s fine,” he says.

Although he hopes things will change after his Olympic bronze medal, Rajindra has no regrets about his career choice. Jamaica has a lot of cricketers, but they don’t have many shot putters. I’m happy that I could win the first medal for Jamaica in this event and also the first medal of the Olympics for us. Bronze is a start. I want to be even more ambitious with my goals next year, he says.