Pandemic inspires Dacres to expand business

World Championships silver medallist, discus thrower Fedrick Dacres, has always been planning for life beyond athletics. However, with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to stifle the track and field calendar, he is using his time to devote himself to his newly launched business venture.

Local athletes, including the 26-year-old Dacres, have been unable to earn financially this season because of postponements and cancellations of international meets as a result of the virus. Dacres believes that the current circumstances have emphasised the need for athletes to do long-term planning in order to secure their financial future.

The national record holder plans to secure his future through the marketing company he conceptualised two years ago, Grand Connection Investments.

Anything can happen

"For me, I always plan for war in times of peace. I know that this [athletics] is semi-permanent, and I know that anything can happen," he told STAR Sports.

Dacres recently launched the member-based company which provides discounts to members for products and services offered by various partners. He said that feedback has been positive so far, with major companies forming partnerships with the venture.

"It has been going well. We have over 45 partners in terms of signing on as a partnering company. Everything that you would need, we try to discount. We are trying to help the situation where you don't have to pay full price for things that you need every day," he said.

It is still unclear when or if athletic meets will still take place for this calendar year. World Athletics has recently created a US$500,000 (J$70.2 million) fund in association with the International Athletics Foundation, in support of athletes whose livelihood has been severely impacted. Dacres believes that the experience will be a learning process for local athletes to ensure that they plan for life after athletics.

"I think that this is truly a learning process because, as athletes, we should know that we should not put all our eggs in one basket," he said. "We should always have a backup."