Some might call it a rematch, but others see it as a Pre Classic tradition. Seven of the world\u2019s top 9 are prepared to enter the ring that has produced the most 70-foot throws in the world.
Joe Kovacs, 26, is a bright light in the shot put event. His most shining moment to date came in topping a stellar field at last year\u2019s World Championships in Beijing \u2013 defeating a pair of two-time reigning Olympic or World Championships gold medalists, in what was the first major international competition of his young career.<\/p>\n
The Beijing victory was only one crowning moment for Kovacs, who earlier in the summer heaved 74-\u00bc (22.56) to become the farthest American putter since 1990, when an infant Joe was just learning to walk. Kovacs went on to add the IAAF Diamond League Trophy and No. 1 world ranking from Track & Field News.<\/p>\n
(Kovacs has an interesting training background. His high school coach was his mother, working in a circle they painted in a parking lot because his school didn\u2019t have a shot ring.)<\/p>\n
David Storl, is already Germany\u2019s third farthest ever at 72-10 (22.20), trailing only a pair of former world record holders in Udo Beyer and Ulf Timmermann, of what was then East Germany.<\/p>\n
Storl is a two-time gold medalist at the World Championships (2011 & \u201813). He also has the most major medals in the field at six. He has ranked five times already among the top 4 by T&FN \u2013 the last three at No. 2. Storl debuted in the Pre Classic last year, finishing 2nd to Kovacs.
The field has much more, as five current or past major gold medalists grace an incredible collection that includes the top 6 from last year\u2019s World Championships.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Dayne Richards, 27, produced the first medal for Jamaica in the shot put with a bronze at last year\u2019s World Championships, equaling his national record 71-2 (21.69), set in winning the Pan-American Games gold.<\/p>\n
New Zealand\u2019s Tom Walsh is the youngest in the field at 24 years old. He won the gold medal at the recent World Indoor Championships in Portland with a national record 71-5\u00bd (21.78). Walsh was in medal contention in Beijing, until nudged to 4th by Richards.<\/p>\n
Tomasz Majewski, 34, has two Olympic gold medals, joining legendary Parry O\u2019Brien in an exclusive club. The Polish record holder at 72-\u00bc (21.95), Majewski\u2019s best efforts on U.S. soil have come at Hayward Field, competing at the last six Pre Classics. He has made every major championships final dating to 2004.<\/p>\n
Reese Hoffa, 38, could call the Pre Classic his second home, and it would be fitting for an athlete who has already competed 11 times with 4 victories. Or maybe home could be the T&FN world rankings, where he has ranked 12 straight years in the top 6 (only Udo Beyer has more at 13). Hoffa won gold at the World Championships in 2007 and also claimed a bronze at the London Olympics. In 2014, he earned the No. 1 world ranking by T&FN (his fourth). He is the only two-time Diamond League Trophy winner in this event (2012 & \u201914).<\/p>\n
Two 25-year-olds are prepared for their first Pre Classic. American Jordan Clarke, a four-time NCAA champion from Arizona State, ranked No. 8 in the world last year by T&FN. Tim Nedow is a three-time Canadian champion who earned the silver medal at last summer\u2019s Pan-American Games behind Richards.<\/p>\n
Interesting note\u2014no non-American has ever won the Prefontaine Classic men’s shot put!<\/p>\n
| Men\u2019s Shot Put<\/b><\/td>\n | Personal Best<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| Joe Kovacs (USA)<\/td>\n | 74-\u00bc (22.56m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Reese Hoffa (USA)<\/td>\n | 73-7\u00bc\t(22.43m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | David Storl (Germany)<\/td>\n | 72-10 (22.20m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Tomasz Majewski (Poland)<\/td>\n | 72-\u00bc (21.95m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Tom Walsh (New Zealand)<\/td>\n | 71-5\u00bd (21.78m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | O\u2019Dayne Richards (Jamaica)<\/td>\n | 71-2 (21.69m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Jordan Clarke (USA)<\/td>\n | 70-6\u00bc (21.49m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Tim Nedow (Canada)<\/td>\n | 69-11\u00be (21.33m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | ……………………………………. The planet\u2019s two best men\u2019s shot putters are ready for a new duel at the Prefontaine...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"city":[],"class_list":["post-929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |