Ryan Whiting reinstates American domination in shot put at Sopot

David Strol, Ryan Whiting, and, Tomasz Majewski were the clear favorites at Sopot.

On the first day of the World Indoor Championships at Spot, Poland, the men’s shot put qualifying round was third on the list of events. The clear favourites were Germany’s two-time world champion and Olympics silver medallist David Storl, USA’s Ryan Whiting and Poland’s two-time Olympic champion.

David Storl looked strong entering the finals, with a leading throw of 21.24m.

USA’s defending champion Ryan Whiting sailed smoothly into the finals, hurling the shot to a distance of 20.75m on his first throw, well above the automatic qualifying mark.

Argentina’s South American record-holder German Lauro was the only other competitor who qualified automatically with a throw of 20.73.

Tomasz Majewski was seen to encounter problems relating to his technique, and came in fourth after the qualifying round, with a throw of 20.60m. There was much support from the home crowd for Majewski, who was now through to the finals.

The surprise exits that were witnessed in the competition were that of USA’s Kurt Roberts and Serbia’s Asmir Kolasinac.

Kurt Roberts along with team-mate Ryan Whiting was clearly one of the favourites entering the commotion, because of Roberts’ effort of 21.50m earlier this year. Yet, two opening foul throws, and a last attempt of 20.17m, meant that he had to settle for the 10th position, with only the top eight qualifying for the finals.

European indoor champion Kolasinac was also unable to proceed to finals, with an opening put of 20.04m, followed by two foul throws.

Ryan Whiting’s seals the competition with a throw of 22.05m.

Later in the afternoon, the men’s shot put final saw some great performances. The spotlight though, was earned by USA’s Ryan Whiting, who won his second World Indoor title with a massive throw of 22.05m. Whiting was in superior form, and clearly exceeded the expectations, not only by surpassing David Strol, but by clearing the 22-metre mark for the 6th time. Previously this year, in February, he recorded a personal indoor best of 22.23 at Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The completion proved riveting, as the crowd cheered on Strol and Whiting as they fought neck to neck for the gold.

Strol, who was the last to throw, responded to Whiting’s throw of 20.89m with a throw of 21.35m, and took the early lead. Whiting’s following throw of 21.47m stole the lead for a brief period, as Strol responded with a season’s best of 21.79m, and regained the lead.

After foul-attempts by both athletes on the third throw, Whiting clearly grabbed the pole position with a massive throw of 22.05m.

Ryan Whiting’s second World Indoor title.

Whiting and Strol have encountered each other 11 times, beginning at the 2011 World Championships, and Whiting now has a 7-4 head-to-head lead against Strol.

The other surprise came in the form of New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh, who earned a place on the podium. This was his first Indoor competition, and he defied all predictions to win the bronze medal. Going into the competition ranked 17th, Walsh was one of the lesser known heroes. In the qualifying round he set a new national record of 20.41m, and continued this streak through a final effort of 21.26m, a new Oceania indoor record, which equal’s Scott Martin’s record for the best throw by an Oceania athlete.

Tom Walsh’s final effort pushed Tomas Majewski out of the medal contention, as the two-time Olympic champion had to settle for the fourth position in front of his home crowd; his best throw of 21.04m was not not good enough to earn the Polish team an early medal.