By Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway.
Northwestern State strongman Djimon Gumbs cracked the coveted 20m Shot Put barrier for the first time in his career and broke the 42-year-old school record in the process, while twin brother Diamante climbed within 37cms of the craved 60m plateau in the Hammer Throw.
Djimon’s 20.29m (66’7’) heave, won the Texas Tech Corky/Crofoot Shootout, and is the No 34 mark of the season on the World Athletics list. Twin brother Diamante had a season’s best 17.37m (57’1”) to finish sixth. Djimon was fifth in the Discus Throw with 56.76m (183’6”). Diamante finished ninth with 53.54m (175’8”).
“I can’t lie. I’m still in disbelief that it did it, but it’s a great feeling because it’s something I’ve been working for, for a long time; something I’ve been praying for, working day in and day out for,” Djimon said of his mark that broke John Campbell’s 20.04m (65’9”) from 1982. “It’s amazing. It feels great. To achieve it, there’s no greater feeling.”
He attributed breaking the barrier to getting quality reps and being consistent at 19m, noting that in his last three meets, he has had multiple throws over 19m.
“We understood what needed to be done seeing that at the beginning of the year, for me to hit 19 would have been something big,” he said. “Throwing 19s showed consistency and we all said I was overdue for the big one and it came right when it needed to come so that’s amazing.”
With the mark being No 34 in the world, he described it as being ‘crazy.’
“You don’t often hear that you’re ranked Top 50 in the world, let alone Top 40, mid 30s—it’s like so amazing to hear,” he told Island Sun Sports. “It just shows how hard I’ve been working and I honestly feel that there’s more in the tank, in terms of how far I can throw this year. So, to hear my name there, No 34 in the world, that’s something big for me because it’s something I never expected to rank so high up in the world, that just gives me motivation and drive to push even harder, it’s just a great feeling for sure.”
Djimon will head into the Southland Conference next week with the ‘highest confidence’ to handle business. This was the meet he said that he needed—not discounting the others—it was very special to him. “Not only in the Shot Put, but in the Discus, I’ve been having consistent days in the Disc, but Shot Put, that’s my bread and butter,” he noted. “It’s so encouraging and makes me feel like the sky’s the limit right now. My confidence is really high going into the conference. We’ll trust ourselves, continue training, stay healthy and see what happens.”
Diamante extended his own Hammer Throw school record to 59.63m (195’7¾”). He said that he had a ‘productive weekend’ in both the Hammer and the Shot Put. “In the hammer, I’m getting closer to 60m, which is something I’ve been dreaming of doing for a while now, so seeing that it’s finally within my grasp is really something that I’m very excited about,” he said. “Hopefully, the next meet is conference (championships), and I get above that. I’m definitely excited with how the weekend went.”
