By Hannah Bonnie
During the first day of the Prefontaine Classic,shot putter Joe Kovacs of the United States raised his hands to the crowd as it erupted into cheers after his throw, the farthest in the world this year with a winning distance of 72 feet, 7 ¼ inches (22.13 meters).
“It’s always good to come here at Prefontaine and put some big throws together,” said Kovacs.
Even though Kovacs already had the world lead going into the event, he was happy to extend it. Each time he threw, Kovacs keep going farther, without a single foul, maintaining a lead through the majority of the event. He threw past the 70-foot mark on his final three throws, easily winning by four feet.
“It feels good to kind of see progression building,” he said.
In order to train for the upcoming Olympic Trials, Kovacs’ coach is having him concentrate on technique. During practices, Kovacs said, he has been more detail-oriented and “probably a lot more boring.”
From perfecting technique, Kovacs has gotten faster, an underestimated necessity in shot put.
“Everything is about speed. Everyone always talks about strength in the shot put, but speed is what it is.”
Also in this stacked field was New Zealand’s Tom Walsh, who is the national record holder for both outdoors and indoors. Walsh finished in second with a distance of 68-4 ½. Walsh isn’t disappointed with his finish, but he isn’t thrilled, either.
“If I was going to hit 21, I would be over the moon, so 20.80, whatever it was, is not too bad,” he said.
Walsh is using the Pre Classic as a checkpoint for where he is before the Olympics. “Obviously none of us are in top shape at the moment, so it’s just a reaching point for me in terms of how I’m going. So I’m pretty happy with where I’m at.”
Also competing was Reese Hoffa of the United States and double Olympic gold medalist Tomasz Majewski from Poland, who was visibly disappointed with his performance when he fouled his final throw. They finished third and fourth, respectively, with distances of 67-6 ¼ and 67 feet, ½.
There were four other athletes from the United States in the event. Jordan Clarke finished in fifth with a throw of 66-7 ¾. Ryan Crouser finished right after him with a throw that was less than an inch under Clarke’s. Kurt Roberts and Ryan Whiting finished in eighth and ninth, respectively, with throws of 66, feet, ½ inch and 64-5.
Looking forward to the Olympic Trials, Kovacs said, “Every year, the Americans in the shot put, they’re going to show up in the Olympic Trials, so I’ve just got to be ready for that.”
